Beautiful Accident
by Future Memory
Summary: Stelena, AU, human. Stefan and Elena tried to find an escape from their own problems in each other. It was supposed to be only one night, it wasn't supposed to mean anything. But that one night may turn their world around and make them stay in each other lives longer than they planned.
1. The Meeting

Sadness. Loneliness. Fear. Anger. Pain.

She had no idea what she's feeling, but she knew it's one of those things. Maybe all of them mixed in one. She could feel a shooting pain in her stomach, like someone is repeatedly pushing a knife in the same place in her abdomen. Her mind was crowded. Not with thoughts, but with feelings. She had no thoughts on her mind. She stopped thinking about things a long time ago.

Maybe it's nothing. Maybe there's only emptiness inside of her. Maybe she's broken.

She orders another tequila. She knows she shouldn't, tomorrow is the first day on her new job. But she licks the salt, empties the knee cap, and puts lemon in her mouth. She doesn't even make a squirmy face people usually do after drinking tequila and feeling the sour taste of lemon in their mouths, so the waiter eyes her, but she ignores him. Instead, she orders another tequila.

She looks around the bar. She sees him looking at her. Glancing, really, with the corner of his eye. He looks tired. His suit is lingering from his body like he's a skeleton, his eyes are a little bloody, and his ashy brown hair is messy. He looks like someone important, but sitting on the stool by the bar, he's only another customer. He's one of them. And he seems to enjoy that fact, that for a split of a second, no one is expecting anything from him. Like he has to work miracles on daily basis.

He looks sad, but he tries to hide it when he catches her looking into his direction. He's broken as much as she is, maybe more. Maybe in more ways than one.

He smirks at her. That smirk reminds her of him. That smirk ruined the mood. It wasn't his fault, she would see his smirk on the every person that would smirk into her direction. She was sure the man across the bar was nothing like him. He didn't look like him, he didn't sit like him, he didn't dress like him. The man had something behind his eyes, he was radiating with goodness, and in a way, that annoyed her a little. How can someone so good be so sad? She found it unfair, so she thought maybe he's faking it. Being sad or being good, doesn't matter. But how can someone fake the goodness behind their eyes? Eyes are a mirror of the human soul, correct? And that kind of sadness, it can't be faked, she knew that better than anyone. So maybe it is what it is, the world being an unfair place, were bad people smile, and where good people cry.

She didn't want to think about him, but the man's smirk trigered her memory of him. She could feel the scars he left in her mind. He never touched her skin, but sometimes she wished he did. She thought she can handle physical pain better than emotional one. She thought she can hide bruises better than the feeling of unworthiness. But she never found out, because he never touched her skin, he only bruised her mind. She could hear him whispering into her ear every second she spent awake, and sometimes, she could hear him in her dreams. She thought moving away will wash him off of her, but she was wrong. He was everyhwere, and it was only today that she became aware he's going to haunt her forever. She would kill herself if she wasn't so afraid he would find her there too and pull her down to spend and eternity with him in hell.

She had another knee cup of tequila. She looked up and saw the man standing up from his stool and walking towards her. He sat on the empty stool next to her. He didn't even ask was the seat taken, because he could see she doesn't care if anyone is sitting next to her or not. She can't see above the walls she built around herself. She doesn't want to.

The man was handsome. He had a body of a man, but face of a boy. She wondered how's he from the inside. A man, or a boy? His eyes looked old, but his smile and his skin were like a baby's. But she didn't care was he handsome or not, she didn't even notice them on the street anymore, when every one of them had something wicked inside of them. A little devil that would take over them. Or maybe it was her fault. Maybe it was she who made them act the way they do around her. Maybe she's the devil who deserves to be punished and talked down to. Maybe she did something in the previous life, or will do something in the next, so she's paying for her deeds in this one.

„I'm Stefan" – the man said before lifting a bottle from the counter and taking a sip of beer.

His name echoed in her ears. Stefan. Stefan's a nice name. Sounded almost angelic. But then again, the devil was also once an angel, God's favorite.

**xxxx**

She looked sad. No, she looked more than sad. She looked devastated. But so did he, and he did not want anyone to bother him about it, so he didn't ask her what's wrong. Everything was wrong.

But she looked beautiful. Extremely beautiful. Movie beautiful. Beautiful people write songs about. Her presence was singing a song that lured him to her.

She looked like an angel who lost its wings.

She had a long brown hair that was falling all over her thin back. Her eyes were big and glossy, the same color as her hair was. He didn't care about the shape of her body much because the lines of her face captured his attention.

„I'm Elena" – she said while turning her head to face him, locking her big, beautiful eyes on his.

He looked so little under her look. He was ashamed, just like the stars are ashamed of the sun, so they hide whenever the sun comes out.

She stretched her hand out, and he shook it. He noticed she has no energy in her slim body.

„Do you want another one?" – he pointed with his finger at her knee cup.

She knows she shouldn't. She passed her limit three drinks ago. Tomorrow is an important day.

But she nods anyway, and he asks for one more tequila and one beer from the waiter. The waiter smiles and nods at him, eyeing Elena. She's ignoring him, and Stefan is too busy with studying Elena to notice.

He wishes this feeling would stop. This emptiness inside of him. She left and since that day there's a big hole inside of him. Nothing can fix him, nothing can cover up the bruises she left. Bruises both of them left.

He wants to turn back the clock. To pin point the moment when he stopped making her happy. When she stopped wanting him, loving him. He wants answers. He wants more than coming home to an empty apartment and a card on the coffee table. He wants more than her telling him how sorry she is, how sorry both of them are. He deserves more. At least she had a decency to leave his mothers ring before she ran away.

The waiter had put drinks in front of them. Elena takes a knee cup in her hand and stirs the tequila in it. Stefan watches her carefully as she licks the salt from the edges of the cup. He takes another sip of beer. It tastes like..

It tastes like nothing.

Like all the other things taste like nothing these past few months. He was tired of feeling like a robot. He was tired of his daily routine. Wake up, go to work, have few drinks at the bar, drive back to an empty apartment, go to sleep, repeat everything tomorrow. He wanted to feel something. Anything. Good feeling, bad feeling, he really didn't care, but he was tired of feeling nothing.

Maybe she can help him to feel something.

„Do you want to get out of here?" – he hears himself asking, disgusted by his own question.

She turns her head to him in a hurry, and he expects a slap on a cheek, or a glass of water sitting on a bar thrown to his face, but instead, she simply nods.

He stands up and gives her a hand. She takes her bag from the counter and follows him as he leads her to the exit.

He's confused, and scared, and surprised. By his actions, by her actions. He has no idea what he's doing. He has never done something like this before. He had never picked up a stranger at the bar and took her home. He slept with a decent amount of women, but not since she left, and never like this.

He was disappointed in himself. He was disappointed in her too.

But there was something about her. Something that made him think she can help him feel something.

**xxxx**

He opened the bar door for her. She was a little bit surprised, since no one has ever opened doors for her. She didn't even know people still do things like that. He lead her to his car, it was black and luxurious, but she couldn't tell which brand it is in the dark. He opened the car door for her too, and she slipped in and made herself comfortable in baige, creamy leather seats.

He started driving. He didn't say a word, and neither did she.

That feeling in her stomach disappeared, but she had a feeling it's moving to her throat.

She had no idea what is she doing. She has never done something like this before. She hasn't slept with anyone since him, and before him, she slept with only one other man. This wasn't like her, this didn't seem like something she would do.

„New beginnings" – she whispered to herself.

She needed something different. She needed something Elena unlike.

Plus, there was something about him. Something that made her think he can fill that void inside of her.

He parked in front of a tall building. He stepped outside and opened the car door for her. He grabbed her by the hand and lead her to the entrance. The doorman opened the doors for them, smiling at both of them, but Elena could feel his eyes on her back as he closed the doors behind them.

They went into the elevator and Stefan pushed the button with number 14 written on it. She looked into the mirror that was covering the elevator wall, and she flinched. Stefan noticed that, but he acted like he didn't.

Disgusting. She looked disgusting. She felt disgusting. Maybe she was disgusting, like he always said. Maybe he was the only one who ever told her the truth.

The elevator stopped on the 14th floor, and he stepped outside, but this time he didn't grab her hand to lead her his way. She kinda wished he did, and she didn't know why. She followed him on her own.

He didn't say a word for the whole time, and neither did she. The only thing she knew about the man in a suit is that his name is Stefan, he drives a luxurious car, and lives on a 14th floor of a modern building. She didn't know anything else about him. His last name, what he does for a living, does he have a family in town, was he married, is he married. It made her feel dirty. It made her feel different. That was the point after all, to be not like herself.

She liked the idea of being someone else.

Someone better, someone worthy. He often told her she's not good enough, that she's a waste of space, that she only wastes oxygen.

Maybe she can be that person for Stefan, even for one night. Maybe he can make her feel.. better.

He unlocked the front door and stepped aside so she can come through. She came into his apartment, gasping at the sight in front of her. Big living room connected to the kitchen. Everything was black and white, and it looked elegant. It was nothing compared to her tiny apartment on the other side of the town.

She turned around and bumped into him. He looked down at her, his look fixated on her lips.

„Do you want something to drink?" – he asked politely. She could feel his hands trembling near her hips. She wondered is he unexperienced as she was in these kind of situations.

She shook her head.

„Where is your bedroom?" – she asked while looking him in the eyes.

He swalloved and pointed down the hall with his look. She grabbed his hand and started leading him towards the direction of his bedroom. There were four doors in a long hall, so he pointed at the first door at the left with his look, his hand sweating in hers. She could feel his hand getting warm in hers, and the warmth started spreading through her whole body.

Both of them stepped in, but she couldn't see anything in the dark. She turned around and cupped his face with both of her hands and pulled his head down until their lips met. She could feel his tongue parting her lips, so she had let him.

She could smell beer in his breath, but his lips tasted sweet. Soury sweet. His lips made hers sting, but in the same time, she didn't want to detach them, because he was sending sweet and relaxing feeling down her throat.

He made her feel something. After all this time he made her feel something. Something good.

Maybe he's different from the rest of them. Maybe he's the one, the one who wouldn't think she's worthless, or a piece of trash, or stupid, or ugly. Even if she is all of those things, maybe he would think otherwise, maybe he would be blind to her faults.

He unzipped her dress. It fell on the floor. It slipped down her body, leaving her in nothing but a black lacy bra and matching silky panties. She took his jacket off of him. It fell on the floor next to her dress. She started unbuttoning his shirt which slipped down his body on the top of his jacket. She could feel his hands under her ass moving in the front. His fingers slipped down her panties and she released a silent moan as he started kissing her neck. She unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants which fell down his legs as he pulled the fingers of both of his hands up and down her back.

He lifted her from her ground and she tangled her legs around his waist and put her hands on his arms. That's when she felt how strong he is. He was rock solid, both his arms and his torso. She would have never guessed, because sitting across her in a bar, he looked like someone sucked all the life force out of him. All that time, she was kissing him, going with her fingers through his hair.

He threw her on the bed and she could feel his erection on her thigh as he climbed on top of her.

His bed was comfortable, there were bunch of pillows under her head and upper back, and she could feel silky covers under her bare skin.

He kissed her lips once again, sending sensational tingly feelings down her spine.

His touch on her skin felt like electricity.

He started planting kisses on her chest, on her stomach, on her thighs.

Her heart was pounding, her mind was racing, and her insides were smiling.

Because after all these months, she finally felt something.

And she couldn't even explain what.

**xxxx**

For a moment, he stopped existing.

All the pain was gone. Sadness washed away when Elena kissed his lips. Her touch on his skin made that hole in him fill up.

She was like an ocean.

She was soothing, and relaxing, and he had a feeling like he could drown in her.

But in the same time, she was wild, and uncontrolable, and her touch was deadly, because she made him feel things he never felt before.

She was a stranger, and she made everything better.

Maybe she was different. Maybe she wouldn't hurt him. Maybe she wouldn't leave.

Nonsense. Everybody leave. His mother left even before he had a chance to meet her. His father waited for him to turn 18 so he could take his own life. His brother has his own life, life that has nothing to do with him.

So why would she stay?

He never got turned on so fast before. Maybe it's because it's been such a long time for him. He used to have sex with her every day, in every room in the house.

But Elena felt different. Her skin was softer. And her breath was warmer. And she made him melt under her touch. And her kisses cured his soul.

He took down her panties and pulled his fingers over her vagina. He kissed her lips as she pulled his boxers down. She took his erection into her hand and lead his penis to the entrance of her vagina.

She moaned as he pushed himself inside of her.

Their bodies started moving rhythmically.

She started panting into his ear which made the hair on his arm stand straight up.

Her body trembled under his.

She was so weak. So unprotected. Like a bird who fell out of the nest while learning how to fly.

He asked himself does she does this often, sleep with strange men. And he wondered is she asking herself does he does this often too.

He looked in the direction of her face and her eyes were closed. She held her hands on his back, and he could feel she's plunging her nails into his skin. He smiled.

She started breathing faster, and her moans became louder. She screamed a few times, but silently, like she's trying not to wake somebody up. She controlled her desires.

He felt sorry for her because of that.

No one should keep their soul or mind locked like that. If she was his, he would help her find the key, he would help her free herself.

She was beautiful.

Not what people today find beautiful, her beauty was genuine.

She looked like a child, like a sister, like a friend, like a lover, like a mother. She looked like a woman.

Her hair was glued to her face.

He removed the locks of the hair from her face as her body stiffened under him. He could tell she's reaching her climax.

He came few seconds after her.

He fell on the bed next to her, and inhaled. He turned his head around and looked at her. She was already looking at him. She turned her head around like she was scared of his look. No, more like she was ashamed of it. Ashamed of her face, of her body, of what they just did, of everything she is and ever was.

She jumped from the bed and said she needs to head home. First day on the new job tomorrow, she explained. He offered to drive her home, but she refused. She ran out of his apartment before he left the bed. He felt terribly sorry for that. He wished there was something he could do for her.

But he was too tired. He fell asleep instantly.

That night, he dreamed about her. About her big browns eyes that shined like the stars in the depth of the night, about her long brown hair that was a shelter for her bare shoulders, beautiful lines of her face, her blushy cheeks, soft skin of her body.

And he had a feeling he's been dreaming about her since forever.

**xxxx**

**I hope you guys liked the first chapter, and please tell me yours thoughts in the reviews.**

**xoxo**


	2. Touch Of Faith

When he woke up the next morning, he could still feel her presence in the bed next to him. She left the scent of her lavender shampoo on his pillow. Unintentionally, he buried his face in the pillow, and took one deep breath.

She was a stranger, nothing more, nothing less. She was a one night stand, his first, and hopefully, his last. She meant nothing to him, and part of him liked that fact. But the other part of him wanted to know more about her. The other part of him didn't want her to be a stranger anymore.

He heard about people like her. He heard what kind of feelings people like her can awoke in others. She was one of them. One of those people who you desperately want to know when you see them on the street. One of those people who have that something. Something unexplainable, something that keeps pulling you deeper in. One of those people who occupy your mind as soon as you lock your eyes on theirs.

She was created by magic, she had to be.

Her big, glossy eyes were out of this world. Her hair was thin and silky. Her lips were a special shade of pink. Her skin was soft as a mermaids tail. Her moans were silent and gentle, but yet again, they kept echoing in his ears like the scream someone released from the top of the mountain. And her movements were elegant.

But even if he wanted to find her, he wouldn't know where to start. The only thing he knew about her was her name.

He jumped out from the bed. Strong, black coffee was very much needed. He pulled his fingers through his hair and directed himself towards the kitchen.

There was a picture of two of them on the living room wall. He wondered why he didn't remove it by now. It's been three months since she left. He thought about taking it down, instructing his mind to will him to take it down, but his body would not listen to his mind. He would stand in front of that picture and stare in it, for the old times sake.

He asked himself, if she came knocking on his door, asking for forgivness, would he take her back? Yes. And no. He knew their relationship is a train long gone. Everything they spent years building disappeared in a second. He could never trust her again, not like he did before. The person who cheated on you once will have no problem doing the same thing twice. He could never love her like he loved her before, knowing she gave herself over to someone else. No just someone else, his best friend. Their friendship was long overdue, too. He would find it easier to forgive her than him.

He poured himself a cup of coffee. It burned his tongue as the memory of them burned his mind.

He remembered the night he had proposed to her. She was wearing a little red dress that thightened around her perfectly shaped body. He loved seeing her in that dress, his mind would start racing, and his heart would start pounding wildly. She was a perfect combination of a devil and an angel. Her curls were bouncing on her shoulders, and her face was pale and her cheeks firey red, as always. Her skin was shining under the moonlight, and to him, she was the most perfect thing in the world. He never thought it's possible to love someone as much as he loved her. When he got on one knee and took the ring out, she cried. She cried while they were making love that night, too. Her voice was husky when she said yes as he slid the ring on her finger, but it was filled with happiness and joy. He could tell from the way she hugged him, and from the passion that was created when their lips met.

Somewhere along the line she lost her wings and grew out horns, she decided to turn everything they had into ashes with the fire in her eyes.

He wondered will he ever love someone as much as he loved her. Probably not, love like that happens only once in a lifetime, even if it burns. He could not imagine loving someone else again, not now, not ever. Not with so much passion in his heart.

„Bullshit", Caroline would say. „Person you're supposed to be with would never hurt you like that", she told him when he vowed he will never love again. Stefan admired her strength, since she was hurt by others much worse, and many times more. Maybe she knew something he didn't, or maybe she was guided by love, blindly. Maybe she had too much hope, or maybe hope was the only thing she was left it. But Caroline refused to believe this was it. That this was all they're going to get. That there is nothing more or better our there for them. There has to be.

He decided to ban her out from his mind. He shook his head and emptied the cup in his hand. There's a long day ahead of him.

**xxxx**

The first thing she did when she woke up was hop in the shower.

She decided to clear every trace of him from her body. Like he never existed, like last night never happened. This is not how her new life was supposed to start.

She started rubbing her skin, ereasing his kisses that were carved all over her body. His touch was so deep inside her skin, she could still feel his fingers pressing on her hips, on her thighs, on her chest.

She was disgusted by herself. With what she did, with how she acted. She decided to run away from herself so much that she ran into the person she never wanted to be.

But that was not the scary part. She wished her feelings towards herself were the scary part. But what scared her more was how she felt while she was with him.

Who was he? A stranger. A shadow. A one time deal. Somehow who was supposed to take part of her pain away. Someone who was supposed to free her from herself and from everything she was.

She feels like she selled her soul to the devil. She feels like she embodied one of the seven deadly sins.

While she was lying under him, she felt protected. She felt like someone released her from her cage, but she wasn't afraid to run wild, she wasn't afraid of everything that was lurking in the dark, because the shadow of his body was leaning above her, looking after her. When he kissed her, she became his. When he kissed her, she had a feeling he's been kissing her forever, like he's supposed to be kissing her forever. She was like a feather under his touch. She was like a mold for his body. His skin was interflowing with hers.

He was not supposed to make her feel like that. He was supposed to make her feel easier, not harder. He was not supposed to become one of the problems, he was supposed to take one of the problems away.

She could not let herself feel anything for him. Not now, not ever. She's never going to feel anything for anyone again. She's not going to let anyone hurt her again.

She's not going to be weak, she's not going to go back to him, she's not going to open herself to the posibility of being his. Of being anyones. She's going to be by herself, it's better that way.

She stepped outside of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body.

Her apartment was small. It had only one room. Living room which was her bedroom too, was connected with the kitchen, only a small wall was diving her sleeping place from the kitchen sink. It had a small bathroom and a tiny balcony. That was all she could have afford with the money she saved up in the couple of months since she decided she's leaving him.

„Well, go then!", he yelled at her when she informed him it's over. She knew if she ran away, if she left without telling him, it would only make the situation worse. „But if I see you ever again, I'm going to make your life a living nightmare", he threatened her, like she wasn't leaving her worst nightmare already.

She knew he would never hurt her, not physically. He would do something much worse. He would drive her insane, he would find a way, after all, he knew her the best. He knew all of her soft spots and her vulnerabilities, he knew where to kick to make her scream. He knew her fears, and he took them and turned them into something more. Into paranoia. She would confide in her friends, and all of them thought she's losing her mind, because he was a good actor. Outside, he was a kind person with a heart made out of gold, and he held it for everyone to see. But behind closed doors, he was a maniac. And he was good with bad words. She knew she has to run away, not only from that building, not only from that street, not only from him, but from that town as well. She had nothing left. Her friends abandoned her, and what was left of her family was far away, and she had lost contact with them a long time ago.

She remembered her home in Los Angeles, home she once shared with him. She could call that place a home, once upon a time, before it became her prison. Before he imprisoned her mind in her body, and before she became his victim, and the victim of her own thoughts.

He wasn't always the man he is now. When she met him, he was the sweetest, kindest, and most amazing man she had ever met. She thought she had find someone to spend the rest of her life with.

Her parents died in an airplane crash the same summer she was heading to college. Her younger brother Jeremy moved in with their aunt Jenna, their mom's sister, and since then he has been living with her in New York, while Elena decided to attend the college in Los Angeles. After her parents died she was on the verge of depression. She was lost, and devestated, and she isolated herself from her friends entirely, and despite their best efforts to help her, none of them were successful. And then, he came into her life, and somehow, he made everything better. There was something about him that made her keep moving, that made her live her life again.

Only few months into their relationship, he started showing signs of the person he turned into, but she had noticed that when it was too late. She was always finding excuses for him. How he's tired, or stressed because of his work. He would always apologize for his behavior, and he himself was trying to find excuses for the way he treated her. After two years, they moved in together, and that is when things started getting serious. That is when she realized he's emotionally abusing her for months already. But she didn't know what to do. She barely spoke to her aunt and her brother, all of her friends thought he's a sweetheart, she was twenty, she barely had little money of her own, and she was in college. She thought she's stuck with him, and that she will have to endure his episodes of insulting her and talking down at her. But with years, it only got worse. She couldn't even see glimpses of the man she fell in love with. So she waited to get her degree, she found a part-time job, and when she saved enough money, she told him it's over.

She wondered what would he have to say about all this. How would he call her now? Slut? Whore? Tramp? Cheap bimbo? Worthless piece of trash that is good for one thing and one thing only? So many possibilities, so many names he could call her by.

She quickly dismissed her thoughts and got ready for her first day on the new job.

Luckily for her, bus station was only few steps away from her building, and the hospital she's going to work in was only few miles away from where she lived. She entered the hospital and asked for a head nurse, like she was told to do.

„You must be Elena", she heard a voice coming from behind her. „I'm Lexi, the head nurse", she turned around and saw a tall, blonde, young woman with chubby cheeks standing behind her, smiling happily and stretching her hand out to her.

Elena forced herself to smile and shook Lexi's hand. „Pleasure."

Lexi smiled even wider. „Let me take you to your locker so you can change in your uniform."

Lexi started walking down the hallway, greeting few doctors and patients, and Elena followed her silently. Lexi showed her her locker, and Elena changed in a small, blue nurse uniform. Lexi smiled at Elena when she saw her coming out of the room in her uniform. She had big, brown eyes, similar to Elena's, but her eyes were happier. She was happier.

„You will meet the staff along the way. We don't have many nurses, and in a small town like this, we don't really need much. We don't have many doctors either", Lexi shrugged as she furrowed her brows. „Our neurosurgeon is on the call today", Lexi raised her head and smiled widely at Elena, „You're going to love him, everybody else does. He's young, he's nice, and he's easy on the eyes too", she winked at Elena. „Oh, there he is", she said silently as she grabbed Elena by the hand and started dragging her down the hallway. „Dr. Salvatore!", she yelled after the man in front of them.

When the man turned around, Elena's feet got digged at the site. She thought someone had cut her kneecaps because she had a feeling her legs are betraying her.

„This is our new nurse - "

„Elena", Stefan said her name with a shocked expression on his face.

Lexi looked at Stefan, then at Elena. She bit her lower lip. There was some tension between them. „Oh, you two already know each other", she said through a giggle.

Stefan detached his look from Elena's face and smilingly looked at Lexi. „Thank you Lexi, I'll take it from here", he said.

Lexi frowned, but she nodded obediently. As she walked away, she turned her head around to look at them, only to catch both of them staring at each other.

„So..", Elena decided to break the ice, on her own surprise, „You work here?", she asked, although that was pretty much obvious.

He nodded in silence. She could see the surprise on his face.

„Look", she said as the silence between them became awkward, „I hope things won't be weird between us because of last night", she lowered her head so she doesn't have to look him in the eyes.

But he didn't say anything. For few minutes, they just stood there, in the middle of the half empty hospital hallway, his eyes locked on her, her eyes on the floor. After few more minutes, she raised her head only to catch his serious look.

„I have a surgery in three hours", he smiled at her, „Would you like to scrub in, for a start?"

She nodded. She took that as his way of saying things between them won't be weird.

„Good", he replied, still smiling at her, „Now excuse me, I have some work to do", he moved past her and walked in another direction.

She didn't know why, but for the rest of the day, she was trying to avoid Stefan. Before the surgery, after the surgery, whenever she saw him around the hospital, she would take a turn in another direction. On her way home, she wondered why. She knew it's going to be uncomfortable working with him, seeing him every day, when this morning she decided that the only thing she wants to do is forget that last night ever happened.

But she couldn't. She couldn't wash his imagine out of her mind. The moment she saw him, she remembered how his kisses made her feel, and she could still feel his touch on her skin. She tried to make that feeling go away, but she couldn't.

**xxxx**

„What's with the sour face, Salvatore?", Caroline asked.

They were sitting in her apartment which was covered with cloth samples and sketches. Caroline was a fashion designer, and a very messy person. Stefan had to dig his way through the sofa.

„I have to tell you something", he said seriously as she handed him a glass of whiskey.

She threw herself on the sofa next to him. „God, something juicy I hope", she exhaled. Caroline loved rumors and gossip.

„I slept with someone", he said.

She raised her upper body and sat next to him, straight up, with her mouth wide open. She was sick and tired of him moping around about his ex and his monologues about how he's never falling in love again.

„Good for you", she clapped with her hands excitedly. „You know what I always say, the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else", she said as she took the glass from his hands and took a sip of whiskey.

„That's not everything. Today, I found out she works at the hospital", he started rubbing his palms against each other. He could feel his hands sweating.

Caroline coughed. „I see how that could be a problem."

„You haven't heard the worst part yet", he laughed lightly.

Caroline looked at him curiously.

„I can't get her out of my head", he admitted, squeezing one of his hands with another.

Caroline shook her head. „No, no, no", she said after she swalloved a sip of whiskey, „You never fall for a rebound girl."

Stefan turned his head around to look at Caroline. He laughed at her. Guess that was her rule, since she never dated any of the guys she had one night stands with. He lowered his head down and started playing with his fingers.

Caroline had put her hand on Stefan's back. „I'm going to make us some dinner", she got up from the sofa and started walking towards the kitchen.

„Caroline, you don't know how to cook", Stefan laughed as he pulled his eyebrows closer to each other.

Caroline picked up the phone in her hand. „Who said anything about cooking, doctor?", she winked at him as she dialed the number of her favorite pizza place.

Stefan laughed as he shook his head. He leaned on the sofa and closed his eyes.

And there she was again. White as snow, with her silky skin, getting hotter under his touch. Her long hair between his fingers like the strings of the harp, and her big eyes like two chestnuts in the late Fall. Her subtle lips made the skin of his chest melt like ice as she kissed him. She was so small in his arms.

And just like that, he wanted her again.

**xxxx**

**Well, Stefan and Elena are obviously two very damaged people, both of them in their own ways, but somehow, they make each other feel something. And in the same time that's the thing both of them want, but it's also the thing that scares them the most. So, what do you think, who of them will pull the shorter straw and open themselves up to the possibility of being with someone again?**


	3. The Scars

It's been a month, and she had a feeling like it's been only a week. Time flew by her like a plane in a hurry to get on its destination in time. She wished time ereased memories and scars as well as it ereased happiness from her life.

It's funny how people keep holding on to memories, even if they hurt them. Even when people come to the point in their lives when they realize they will never be as happy as they once were, they keep holding on to those memories until they suck all of the life's force from them, making them dummies for world's entertainment. They dance around, twirl around God's finger, or whatever's controling the course of events, in the search of happiness that is long gone. After some time, people forget what they're looking for, becoming ultimate victims of a memory long forgotten, trapped in a world of no moving forward, but only looking back. People hold on to memories like they can't live without them, like all of the air will be sucked out of their lungs if they let go.

Memories keep people alive. Sometimes they make them keep going on, sometimes they make them stay buried in one place, but at least they're alive. Memories destroyed Elena's life.

She was holding on to the memory of them, to the memory of who they once were. Once upon a time he treated her like a queen, and he made her feel like she's on the top of the world. He carried her on the palm of her hand, proudly showing everyone she is his. His attention was centered on her, and she was the center of his world, everything else revolved around her. And when something in him snapped, she held on to the memory of him, of the person he once was. When he started talking down on her, when he started insulting her and patronizing her, she would remember how he called her beautiful and kind and how he touched her skin like it's the most precious thing in this world. He treated her like she's made out of gold, like her worth is bigger than anyone's else. And when he started treating her like trash, like a piece of paper that wind flew through his open window, she made the memory of him come alive. That way, he would live in her, the man she fell in love with, and the man who fell in love with her.

And she loved him. She loved him, she loved him. And she was loved. When he would start yelling at her, calling her incompotent, an idiot, worthless, she would lock herself inside of her mind, and cuddle up to the man she loved. He would whisper into her ear not to be afraid, that she is loved, that she is beautiful, that she is his everything.

But after some time, his new behavior stained the memory of who he once was. She had no place to run to, and when he called her a slut, a dumb whore, a worthless piece of nothing, she had no place to hide, she had no one to tell her everything is going to be okay, because the man inside of her mind was replaced with the man she could see in front of her eyes. When she realized what's going on and in what her life has turned into, it was too late. The reality of the situation had struck her like a speeding train, and the worst thing was that she started believing into every word he said.

She believed him when he called her stupid and worthless. She started seeing herself as such. She started blaming herself for not being good enough, and she wanted to be good enough for him. She wanted to change, to become a woman he deserves, but in the same time she didn't know where to start, how to make herself better. And days turned into months, and months turned into years, and one year with him felt like a century.

Her life became a hell. Her friends did not believe her the word she said, and when he found out what she's been telling people about him, things only became worse. She used to be so close to her brother, but after years of not answering his calls, he became a stranger with memories. She would think about her parents, and how disappointed they must be with her. How disgusted they would be with having such a weak daughter like her. Sometimes she was glad they were dead so they don't have to watch her, but they saw her anyway, and every time she would let him call her names, they would cry, and rain would start to pour down, but not even pure raindrops were enough to wash away the scars of yesterday.

And then one day she woke up, and she didn't know how, she didn't know why, but she realized she's not any of the things he's been telling her she is.

„Be strong, Elena", she told herself, as she made a one year plan of how to distance herself from him. She found a part-time job and saved some money. She got her degree. She found a small apartment in a small time in which she found a job. She packed her suitcases and when he came home from work one day, she told him she's leaving. He told her a lot of things, he called her by different names, but for the first time after a long time, she didn't hear him. She didn't believe him.

She bought a one way ticket to Mystic Falls, and she never looked back. While she was standing on the train station, a raindrop fell on her face, and after all that time, rain made a difference.

But the thing about scars is they take a long time to heal, if ever. Some people spend their whole life trying to find a way to run from whoever scared them, but the thing is, you can run from them, but you can never run from yourself and the things those people left behind. Because they become a part of you. They get into your bloodstream like a virus and spread through your whole body, making you weaker and weaker every day. Viruses can be fought, and after some time you get better, but you never forget how you felt while you were sick. And you can feel that virus crawling in your bloodstream your whole life.

She stood in front of her mirror in nothing but her underwear. She had thin thighs. Too thin some would say, but she liked them that way. It took her a long time to start liking anything about herself, but she started that day when she woke up and realized she's not any of the things he kept saying she is. She had nice hips too. They were a little boney, but you could still squeeze the skin on them with your hands. Her pink panties pressed perfectly next to her tanned skin. She pulled her hands over her stomach, which was board flat. Her chest were nice too, not too big, not too small.

„You're beautiful the way you are", she told herself as she stared in the mirror. It really didn't matter did she believe herself or not, the thing that mattered is that she made herself say that out loud. But she could not make herself smile. She hasn't smiled for a long time, not truly. Whenever she smiled, she had to force herself to smile.

She liked the place where she worked. People were nice. A lot of people were nice in a Mystic Falls. She wasn't used to people being so nice to strangers, in L.A people you know are barely nice to you, not alone waitresses or cashiers. It was a nice change. She met all the doctors, although there weren't many. Same goes for nurses. Lexi was especially nice to her, but Lexi was nice to everyone. She was friendly, sometimes too friendly, and very curious. But Elena knew she doesn't mean anything bad, that's simply who she was. She missed her frineds, and she could see herself being friends with Lexi.

Sometimes she would catch Stefan staring at her, and sometimes, she would catch herself staring at him, although she was trying to keep her distance. He seemed to do the same, respecting her decission, fulfilling her wish that things don't get awkward between them in the work envirovment. He would smile at her from time to time. He had a charming smile that made her heart race, but she would ignore it. She heard a lot of nurses whispering about Stefan, and apparently, a lot of them were crushing on him. Lexi told her she knows Stefan since they were kids, but when he got into a relationship, she held her distance, because apparently his ex didn't like her much. And when they broke up, Stefan was a mess, and they never had a chance to regain their friendship. Elena never told Lexi about her one night stand with Stefan, afraid of what Lexi might think about her, or what other people in the hospital might say about her. After so many years of being emotionally molested she became afraid of other people opinions.

She sighed and moved away from the mirror. She wished she could look at herself longer, but she wasn't able to. Not yet.

The pain might fade away, but the scars will remain.

**xxxx**

He took their picture from the wall the other day. That was the final step, Caroline said. Now she's completely gone from his life, since that's the last thing he had of her.

But it's not that easy. He wished it was. When you love someone, they stay a part of you forever. It's like you put them in the little box in your heart, so they can't intrude with the people you will love in the future, but they're always there. Sometimes they break lose and sneak into your life again, making you love them like you used to, with your whole heart. Even if they don't, they stay inside of you till the day you die, reminding you how happy you were. Scaring you you will never experience similar kind of happiness again. Or any kind of happiness for that matter. They keep reminding you how much you loved, and how much it had hurt you when you lost that love.

There's really not a big difference between love and pain. They both make you weak, and scared, and you hurt because of both. You cry and sob because of both love and pain.

„Excuse me, but there's a Great Wall of China between love and pain", Caroline said, „Love is not pain. Love is wonderfull, and unlike pain, you welcome it with open arms. You crave it, even when you're scared to admit it. The only thing love and pain have in common is the fear of getting hurt. What you're referring to is the pain that comes after losing the love you once had, but that pain is not caused by love, it's caused by loss", she explained to him as they enjoyed the Chinese food from their favorite restuarant.

It's a physological fact that the human body's response to love are pupil dilation, sweaty palms and increased heart rate. Those are the same responses when human body is experiencing deep fear. So maybe love is nothing more than fear, he thought, but he didn't say anything, because he knew Caroline would have some kind of objection to that too.

He chuckled. Caroline sounded like a love guru, which was ironic due to her sucky love life. Caroline loved Stefan's ex, but since she did what she did, she didn't want to hear anything about her. The only thing she wanted is her best friend back. She wanted to hear Stefan saying he's over her, and she was determined in helping him get over her as quickly as possible. Because she does not deserve him pining over her, not with the way she treated him.

Stefan sighed and leaned back on the sofa. Caroline eyed him.

„What's a matter?", she asked curiously, putting her dinner on the glass coffee table and scooting closer to him.

Stefan inhaled loudly. „It's that girl I told you about", he looked at Caroline, expecting to catch her rolling her eyes, „I see her every day, and I want to talk to her, but I have no idea why to say. There's something about her", her furrowed his brows as he remembered Elena's face. „But I can't quite figure out what."

Caroline smirked. „So why don't you ask her out?"

Stefan fixated his shocked look on Caroline. Ask her out? That is preposterous. She made it clear she doesn't want anything to do with him, plus, he hasn't asked a girl out in roughly five years.

But he cocked his eyebrow at his friend. „What about your rebound girl rule?", he laughed out loud.

„Maybe I was wrong, maybe she's not a rebound girl", Caroline twirled her lips, „You seem into her. I mean, it's been a month, you barely even talked to her, and from the way you talk, she obviously left an impression on you."

Caroline had no idea who this girl was, or what her story is, but she was glad Stefan got his ex out of his mind.

„Plus, the only thing worse than you pining over a girl", Caroline stood up and picked up two empty boxes from the table, „Is you pining over two girls", she tapped him on the shoulder with the tips of her fingers.

Stefan chuckled. Maybe he could do it. Maybe he should do it. But what is she says no? Or worse, what if she says yes? What is he falls in love with her and she breaks his heart like the previous one did?

Stefan was aware he can't spend his life comparing every other woman to her, thinking they're all the same.

But the scars she left, those are probably never going away.

**xxxx**

They say no matter where you are in the world, the moon is never bigger than your thumb.

Doesn't that make everything else look insignificnt? Small and pointless?

Stefan was standing in front of the hospital window, looking at the sky full of stars. It looks like they're dancing around the moon. If more people looked at the night sky, they would live their life differently. They would understand everything they don't understand now, and they would appreciate things they don't appreciate now.

Stefan raised his hand and covered the moon with his thumb. And just like that, the moon was gone. Stars looked lonely without it. He could swear one of them even fell down from the sky.

What happens to the star when it falls down from the sky? Does it ever reach the Earth? Is it confused here as much as men are confused in the space? Is it fascinated by where it is like men are fascinated with what is not theirs?

They say a falling star is not a star at all. It's s a small rock that travels very fast, and eventually it gets heated up, breaks up and glows very brightely.

He heard footsteps behind him, so he turned his head around and saw Elena walking down the hallway.

„Elena", he called after her, not even aware of what he's doing.

It's like he had nocontrol over his actions anymore. It's like his mind detached itself from his body. Or maybe his heart grew a mind of its own. Whatever it was, it made Elena stop walking and turn around. He could see curiosity on her face, alongside shock and fear. But she was trying to act professional, she was trying to hide her true feelings. She started walking towards him.

„Yes?", she asked, as she stopped herself in front of him.

He could feel his cheeks blushing. He squeezed the pen in his hand out of nervousness. He could feel his palms getting sweaty and he bit his lower lip. Elena looked at him confused.

„I understand you're new in town", he said as he squeezed the pen in his hand tighter, „So I was thinking, maybe I could show you around, take you out for dinner."

When he expressed his true intentions, he felt like a stone was lifted from his chest.

He met her shocked face expression.

„No", she whispered.

He usually believed in miracles. But not today.

**xxxx**

She could hear Stefan calling for her. Her body stiffened out of fear he's going to ask her something that is not work related. The cartons in her hands started trembling alongside her body. She turned around and did her best to hide the fear her face was showing as she started walking towards him.

„Yes?", she asked, and she could hear her shaky voice. She wanted to punch herself for being so obviously nervous.

She could see he was nervous too, which only made her more scared.

„I understand you're new in town", he started talking, „So I was thinking, maybe I could show you around, take you out for dinner."

That question had hit her like a speeding car in the middle of deserted road.

„No", she said through a whisper.

And she wanted to say yes. She wanted to say yes so badly.

Because there was something about Stefan. Something about the way his lips moved. And the way he touched. A month has passed by and she could still feel his fingertips deep in her skin. Sometimes she thought they will stay imprinted on her skin forever. Part of her hoped they will, because they kept reminding her that she finally felt something after so much time of being numb.

They make her move forward.

But she was scared. She was scared of feeling for him. She was scared he will make her fall in love with him, and that he will end up being like the previous one.

Something in her was broken. Something in her made them act like they did. She had some kind of a virus inside of her, making them go mad after some time.

It's hard to be happy, because we find it hard to let go of things that make us sad.

People enjoy the certain kind of sadness.

„Lexi already showed me around. It's a small town", she continued out of fear she sounded rude, „And I'm sorry, but I'm not looking for anything serious at the moment."

Or ever again, she thought.

As much as the thought of being forever alone gave her a feeling of safety, it scared her. Loneliness scared her.

Sadness washed away the nervous smile from his face.

She felt sorry for him. He shouldn't want her. He should move on. He should be happy. And he could never be happy with her because she forgot how to be happy.

„Oh", he gasped, „I see", he said sadly.

She forced herself to give him a comforting smile.

The silence between them became awkward.

„Excuse me, I have work to do", he said before he turned around and walked away in a hurry.

„What was that?", Lexi appeared behind her, grabbed her by her shoulders, making her turn around. There was curiosity and excitement in her voice.

„He asked me out", Elena said, still in shock a little.

Lexi clapped with her palms. „And what did you say?", she asked excidetly.

„I said no", Elena furrowed her brows.

Lexi looked at her confused. Any one of the women in the hospital would give everything to go out with him. Hell, every woman in town would give everything to go out with him. And there Elena was, saying no to him.

„Oh", Lexi exhaled.

Elena had put one of her hands on her head, and the other on Lexi's shoulder, keeping herself from falling on the ground. She brought her eyebrows closer together.

„Are you okay?", Lexi asked with a worried voice.

After few moments of silence, Elena nodded her head.

„Yeah. I'm tired, that's all", she smiled at Lexi so she could remove that worried expression from her face.

But that was a lie. She wasn't tired at all. But she kept experiencing this dizziness a lot lately. And she knew the reason why. She didn't eat anything concrete for a long time. She simply couldn't afford it, not until she gets her first paycheck. All of the money she had she spent on the apartment and a train ticket to Mystic Falls.

But she was so ashamed to admit that to Lexi, so she used tiredness as an excuse.

But she couldn't forget the sadness on Stefan's face after she refused to go out with him.

Why was he so sad?

He looked even sadder than that night she had seen him in the bar.

He looked different kind of sad.

Sadness that bordered with disappointment.

But she couldn't risk it. She didn't want to break him as much as she's already broken. And she knew there's no way for him to fix her. Nothing can fix her.

Maybe if they met in another life.

**xxxx**

**Well, it seems that Stefan is determined in moving on, but something is keeping Elena from doing the same. Fear. Will he be able to convince her otherwise? **


	4. Chances

Stefan was walking down the hallway, in the direction of the surgical board, to check when is his next operation.

He just walked out from one. Sarah Walker, 12 year old girl with a severe case of brain cancer. This was her 4th operation this year, and her last. No one wanted to operate on her, because chances of her coming alive out of that operation room were 20 percent. Her parents traveled with her all around the country to find someone who will operate on their daughter, and when they stepped into Mystic Falls hospital they were lucky enough to run into a man who doesn't believe in chances. 20 percent chances of survival were enough for Stefan to try. By the time they arrived to Mystic Falls, Sarah's parents were desperate and their brains were full of medical information they do not understand, and they were looking for someone who will try to save their daughter. That's the only thing they wanted, for someone to try to save her.

And Stefan was willing. He's young and his career is taking its own turn, and that was one aspect of his life he was satisfied with. The little girl survived, she's free of the cancer, and considering low chances of survival, he was proud of his work. Stefan always loved helping people, since he was a child. From a very young age he knew he wants to be a doctor. His father didn't care about what he wants, but he made sure Stefan gets the best education. His father didn't care about anything since his wife died, and Stefan always thought father blamed him for his mothers death, since she died during the childbirth. Damon used to tell him how father was different before mother died, how he was nice and kind and caring, and after mother died, something in him simply snapped. He missed Damon. They lived in the same town, but it was like they were separated by continents. He got married pretty young, he never had a chance to build his career like Stefan did, and soon after he married his wife got pregnant. Stefan loved his sister in law and his niece, and he was sad he doesn't get a chance to see them more often. But he knew all of them are happy, and that was enough for him.

His father committed suicide soon after Stefan turned 18. He probably wanted to kill himself since his wife died, but he didn't want to leave Stefan and Damon alone. He left each decent amount of money, but there was nothing else in the will. No explanations, no 'I'm sorry', nothing. Like they never knew each other. Like they were distant cousins, and he had no one else to leave all that money to. Stefan used his money for his education, but Damon did not want to even see the money. So Stefan took it and put it in a safe place if Damon ever changes his mind. And he did when his daughter came into the picture.

So Stefan studied hard and a year ago he finished his internship. He stayed in Mystic Falls although many other well known hospitals wanted him. But Mystic Falls was his home and he had no intentions of moving away.

As much as he loved helping people, cutting into people gave him a certain kind of release, no matter how sick that sounds. People usually say surgeons are always different, and weird, for being able to cut into persons body, but Stefan did not find it neither different or weird. Writers write, painters paint, singers sing, actors act and surgeons cut. They do it to help people in some way, to give them something, but what they do, it's what they're meant to do, and their jobs give them a certain kind of satisfaction other people would not understand. Maybe that does makes them different and weird, but it does not make them bad.

Stefan stood in front of the surgical board and glanced over it. He had no more surgeries left today, for which he was thankful, because he had no more power in his body either. Because not all of patients are miracles like Sarah was. Some go into that operation room and never come out. And that's the worst feeling in the world, when you let someone down. Because it's your job to help them, you get paid for helping them, and then they die in front of you while you were supposed to be saving them.

Stefan was always into saving people, he felt like it's his duty. He wasn't able to save his mother, nor was he able to save his father. He always felt partially responsiblen for their deaths, so the least he could do was save others. That's how he met her. He saved her. She always was telling him he's her knight in shining armor, her savior.

He turned around and saw Lexi standing by the front counter, looking into some files. When he noticed there's no one around, he smiled and started walking towards her.

„Hey Lex" - he said as he leaned on the front counter.

„Hey Stef" - she said happily without raising her look from the files. Then her face went pale – „I mean, Dr. Salvatore.." – she glanced at him before looking back at the files.

Stefan laughed out loud. „Cut the crap Lexi. You do not have to call me Dr. Salvatore like you don't know me" – he rolled his eyes.

Stefan and Lexi used to be very good friends. From the primary school it's always been the two of them, and few years later, Caroline joined them when she moved to Mystic Falls from New York with her mother after she caught her husband in a bed with another man. But his ex didn't like Lexi too much, and Lexi started distancing herself from him. He knew she's not to blame, because he was partially responsible too, but he never wanted them to distance as much as they did, or at all. He told his ex many times Lexi is his friend and that she's not going anywhere, but with time, she did.

Lexi raised her look from the files and locked her eyes on his. „Well, I'm not sure I do know you anymore" – she said through light laughter.

He lowered his head in shame. It was the truth, and the truth does hurt. He should have called her when he noticed she's not calling him. He shouldn't leave her, forget about her, saying hi to her only in the hallways of this hospital. That's one of the dumbest things he had ever done, and one of the worst. You don't leave people you love and people who love you, ever, for no reason.

„I never wanted us to become strangers" – he said, keeping his head lowered down. He missed her. Other than Caroline, she was his best friend. He always felt more comfortable in the company of women. He had only one best male friend in his life, and that friend betrayed him. Neither Lexi or Caroline ever did such a thing, and he knew them way longer than he knew him, which means they had so much more time to make mistakes, and they never did.

Lexi wiggled her lips and the look in her eyes became softer. She missed him. She didn't have many friends other than him. When she lost contact with him, she lost contact with Caroline too. She was nice to many people, she was nice to everyone, and people seemed to like her, but not enough to stay. No one ever stayed with her for too long, except Stefan and Caroline.

„I know that" – she said – „But shit happens" – she laughed.

He laughed with her. He brought his eyebrows closer together and started playing with his fingers. He would always do that when he's nervous, and Lexi knew that. She knew him well enough, as well as Caroline knew him, and maybe better than he knew himself.

„She took a day off, she's not feeling well" – Lexi said with an indiferent look on her face.

Stefan looked at her, not even wondering how did she know what's he thinking about. Both her and Caroline knew what he's thinking about.

He smiled. „Yeah, I noticed she's not here today" – he lowered his head and kept looking at his playful fingers intertwining against each other.

She noticed the smile on his face. She recognized that smile. It was his 'there's-something-about-her-pulling-me-in' smile, and the last time she had seen that smile was with the girl he first fell in love with in the 12th grade. With his ex, he didn't have that kind of a smile. He was happy, but with her, everything went smoothly. It was too easy, and true love is never easy.

He raised his head to look at her. „Me and Caroline are going for drinks tonight, why don't you come with us? Unless you lost my number" – he cocked his eyebrow at her.

She smiled at him as she picked the files in her hands. „No, I haven't."

She still knew his number by memory.

„Well, give me a call then, and I'll let you know when and where" – he winked at her before tapping her shoulder and walking away.

She smiled at him as he walked away. She would like that. She would like that very much.

**xxxx**

That morning, Elena woke up with an uneasiness in her stomach. She had a feeling if she moves her whole insides will drop out of her throat. Her throat was squeezing itself inside of her neck, and her stomach was producing unfamiliar sounds.

She managed to pick up her phone from the bed and call the hospital to let them know she's not feeling well and that she won't be able to come to work today.

She spent the whole morning in her bed, playing the movie inside her head, trying to realize why is she feeling like this.

She thought her dizziness is caused by the lack of food in her body, but as a nurse, she knew this kind of feeling can't be caused by not eating.

In some cases she was thankful she's a nurse, because if she wasn't, she would feel so helpless about the situation she's in, and she was tired of feeling helpless.

If she didn't know better, she would think she's pregnant. The last time she had sex was a little more than month ago. Dizziness. Morning sickness. Throbbing pain in her stomach.

But it was impossible, there was no chance she's pregnant. She's on the pill. She's on the pill from the day she had sex for the first time. And pill is 99 percent secure. It would be ironic if she's in that 1 percent.

There's no chance she's pregnant, but she decided to take a pregnancy test anyway. She knew it's better to check than to spend her time convincing herself she's not pregnant.

Pain started lessening with time. And by noon, it was gone completely. The only time she got up from the bed is to puke, and that was only when she felt like she can't hold it in anymore.

She got dressed, and she was lucky enough there was a small drug store only few miles away from her building. She bought few different kinds of pregnancy test because she very well knew home pregnancy test is not 100 percent trustworthy.

She came into her apartment and hurried to the bathroom. She peed on all the six sticks she bought, and now the only thing she could do was wait.

And the wait was killing her.

She only had to wait 3 minutes for each pregnancy test, but a second seemed like a year, and minute seemed like a century.

Her mind was crowded with thoughts. She knew if she's not pregnant there is something else wrong with her, and she will have to find out what. She will have to ask for help. And she knew she doesn't have enough money to pay the medical bills. Not even with her first paycheck, not if she wants to keep her apartment and have something to eat, because she really should eat something.

She doesn't have enough money to have a baby either. She doesn't have either money or room to raise a child. But then again, she doesn't have enough money for abortion either. Would she have an abortion? She always said she would, when she was younger. But now, she's 25, she's more mature, more responsible, she knows more, would she be able to have an abortion?

The timer started ringing which meant three minutes passed by.

She inhaled deeply and with closed eyes took the first stick in the row in her hand.

She could feel her whole body trembling. She was not ready for this. She was not ready to find out is she pregnant. She's not ready to have a baby.

She opened her eyes and looked down at the stick in her hand.

Pregnant.

She felt like some stabbed her in the stomach. She got that uneasy feeling again.

Her hands started trembling and the stick fell on the bathroom floor.

She picked another one.

Pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant.

All of them said the same. She started feeling dizzy again. Bathroom walls started shrinking around her. She felt like there's no air in her lungs. She opened the bathroom door and instantly fell on the bed.

How could have she been so stupid? What was wrong with her? She knows better than sleeping with strangers, and she knows better than not using the protection.

There are 99 percent chances you won't end up pregnant if you're on the pill.

No one ever thinks they're going to be in that one percent. Smokers do not think they will get cancer, alcoholics do not think they will suffer from alcohol poisoning, and women do not believe they will stay pregnant if they're only using the pill.

But chances do not lie. We simply ignore them because we think bad stuff won't happen to us. We think we're better than that one percent.

Tears started rolling down Elena's face.

She was broke. She was miles away from home. She was all alone. She was living in a one bedroom apartment with a paycheck with which she can barely feed herself. She had her own problems. She could not even look herself in the mirror for more than a minute. And the father of her child was a complete stranger.

What is she going to tell Stefan? Is she going to tell him?

She had no money for abortion. She barely had enough money for a warm meal. But if it comes to that, would she have an abortion? She's not 18 anymore, she's responsible for her own mistakes. She knew there's a chance of not having children in the future once you have an abortion. Once upon a time, she wanted kids. But she didn't think about having them for a long time. Who knows what will happen in the future. Five years ago she never thought she will end where she is now.

But if she has this baby she's going to ruin her life, Stefan's life, and baby's life.

The only logical thing for her to do was to have an abortion. So why was she so doubtful? If there was only one logical thing to do, why did she feel like she's not completely sure she should do it?

She wiped the tears of her face and stood up. She walked in front of a mirror and slowly raised her shirt up. There was nothing. Her stomach was completely flat. The person inside of her doesn't even exist. It doesn't have a form, or thoughts, it doesn't feel, it's not even a person.

So why did she feel like her child is already a part of her?

She pulled a hand over her stomach and throbbing pain make an appearance again.

She needs to think clearly. Home pregnancy tests are note 100 percent true, although she was pretty sure six out of six can't be wrong. But she wanted to be completely sure. She picked up the phone and dialed the number of a gynecologist Lexi recommend to her.

She simply couldn't take anymore chances.

**xxxx**

**So, what do you think, is Elena really pregnant? Is she going to have an abortion? Is she going to tell Stefan?**


	5. The Truth

Elena reached for a cellphone that was ringing inside of her pocket. When she saw the number flashing on the screen of the phone, her eyes grew wider.

Lexi noticed that her hand started shaking a little as she pushed a little green button on the phone, before putting her phone next to her ear and saying „Yes?" with a shaky voice.

Lexi could hear only few words the person on the other side of the line said, but they were not enough for her to understand what the topic of discussion is. But she was curious about why Elena's face became pale all of a sudden.

Lexi took a bite of a big, green, juicy apple.

Elena's eyes started wandering around the room. She wanted to avoid making an eye contact with Lexi. But Lexi could have sworn there were tears in the corners of Elena's eyes.

„Thank you" – Elena said with a husky voice, before ending the call. The phone fell out of her hands on the table, and she buried her face in the palms of her hands, pushing the hair from her face backwards.

„Elena?" – Lexi whispered her name, like she was afraid a loud tone of voice would break Elena into million little pieces.

But Elena did not move. She did not even twitch. She did not make any sounds, either. She did not sob, or cry, or even whimper. But the arms supporting her face were shaking, and there were goosebumps on her skin. Finally, she inhaled loudy and removed the hands from her face.

Her skin was pale, and there were tears in her big, glossy eyes. But they did not fall down her face, they were simply lingering in the corners of her eyes, making her look like an innocent child who lost its favorite toy.

She crossed her arms and put them on the table and looked Lexi straight in the eyes. Lexi was scared and curious at the same time.

„I was not completely honest with you" – Elena admitted to her.

„Does this have something to do with the guy you were seeing before you moved here?" – Lexi's eyes grew wider and wider, and so did her curiosity.

Everything has to do something with him, Elena thought, although she shook her head. Lexi became her close friend, although they knew each other only for a little more than a month. Both of them were lonely, and both of them missed having a friend, so they were a perfect match for each other. Lexi was kind, and caring, and warm, and honest, and she really reminded her of some of the friends Elena left back in the L.A, although she hoped Lexi is not as back stabbing as they were. She felt like she can be completely honest with Lexi. And it took her a lot of time, and a lot of hard work, to convince herself that opening up to someone is not such a bad thing.

„I met Stefan before you introduced him to me that day in the hospital" – Elena said, her cheeks blushing slightly.

„Yeah, I figured that out because of that fact he knew your name" – Lexi rolled her eyes while stretching the corners of her lips into a smile.

Elena smiled and pushed few locks of her hair behind her ear. „When I moved here I was so lonely, and so lost. I had no idea what was I doing, and I started having doubts about moving here in the first place. I went to this bar, the first one I could find really, and that is where I met Stefan" – Elena lowered her head out of embarrassment.

Lexi raised her eyebrow. She was confused. Stefan, in a bar, alone? That didn't sound like him. Stefan hated bars, and he hated going anywhere alone. But then again, after what he's been through, he probably wasn't feeling like himself either.

„To make the long story short, we slept together" – she said silently while keeping her head lowered.

Lexi's lips parted out of shock. One night stands most definitely were not Stefan's thing. He did not believe in having sex without any feelings involved, because he simply did not see the point to it. But then again, after everything that happened, he was probably tired of feelings, he was probably tired of trying to find a meaning in every single one of his actions.

„I do not usually do that" – Elena raised her head to face Lexi, and Lexi could see a tear rolling down Elena's cheek – „Sleep with strangers" – she started playing with her fingers, nervously.

„Neither does Stefan" – Lexi said silently, trying to clean her friends reputation, if there was even a need to do so.

Lexi tried to find a meaning in all this. They were probably two people in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or two people in the right place at the right time. Maybe they acidentally bumped into each other and took each others worries away with meaningless sex. Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was destinity. Maybe it was more than it meets the eye, maybe it wasn't so meaningless, Lexi thought as she remembered Stefan asking Elena out on a date.

„But what's up with that phone call you recieved?" – Lexi asked curiously.

Elena swallowed. She tried to calm her fingers down, but she was not successful in doing so. She locked her eyes on Lexi's as another tear rolled down her cheek.

„I went to see that gynecologist you recommended to me. I'm pregnant" – Elena started shaking again, this time more than the last time. She was shaking like there was an earthquake under her feet.

Lexi parted her lips out of shock. She looked at Elena who was shaking like a leaf in the pouring rain, one tear rolling down her cheek after another.

„Are you sure it's Stefan's?" – was the first thing Lexi thought of asking, and as soon as the words came out of her mouth, she regretted asking that question. It was rude, and to Elena it probably seemed like she doesn't believe her that she doesn't usually sleep around, although Lexi was thinking about her ex.

But Elena did not seem offended. Lexi's words were probably the last thing on her mind. She simply nodded.

„Yeah, I'm sure. He's the only one I slept with in a year" – Elena tried to stop shaking by clutching her fingers around each other. The last year of their relationship, they weren't intimate at all. He used to say he has no intention of sleeping with such a worthless, ugly, fat bitch as herself, although he would often touch her like an animal when he would come home drunk. He would fall asleep after few minutes, though, before things became serious.

„Oh" – Lexi said. She did not know much about Elena's ex or her previous life, but she knew she went through hell, and that her ex was not a nice guy, far from it actually. She was curious about it, but she never pushed Elena to talk about it, nor did she had an intention to do so, because the look on Elena's face while she talked about him was enough to tell her the scars haven't healed yet. „So, what are you going to do?" – she asked, this time the curiosity on her voice was replaced by worry.

„I don't know" – Elena cleared her face of tears with the palm of her hand.

„When are you going to tell Stefan?" – Lexi furrowed her brows.

Elena's body stiffened. While waiting for test results, Stefan slipped her mind completely. Her thoughts were centered on one thing and one thing only – to keep the baby, or not? She even made a pro and con list, although there were not many pros to why to keep the baby, except one, which she found the most important – it was her baby, her child, a piece of her. She had a certain responsibility to it, she felt responsible for it, although it had no shape, form, thoughts, feelings or name.

„I do not know am I going to tell him" – she said calmly.

Lexi's eyes widened in shock, but she was trying to stay calm. „Elena, you have to tell him. He's the father of the child, he has the right to know as much as you do" – she tried to explain to Elena, although she was aware how tricky the situation must be for her, and how alone and confused she must feel. Elena started playing with her fingers again, and Lexi knew she has to take a different approach with her. „I know Stefan is only a stranger to you, but he's not to me" – Lexi had put her hand on top of Elena's playful, intertwined fingers – „I know Stefan for a very long time, and he's not like the rest of them. He's not going to tell you you've ruined his life or something like that. He's going to help you in every way he can and knows how" – she squeezed Elena's joined hands with hers, and she could feel tension leaving Elena's body as she explained the situation to her.

Lexi hoped that deep down, Elena could feel that Stefan is a good guy, better than the rest of them.

„Do you think, if I decide to keep the baby, he will be ready to be a father?" – a small smile appeared in the corners of Elena's lips.

Lexi had let go off her hand and laid back on the chair. There was a crooked smile on her face. „Stefan has some bagage, so do you.. all of us do, actually, but the two of you seem to carry more of it than the rest of us. But despite his problems, he would find a way to adjust" – Lexi tried to explain, hoping she knows Stefan well enough, and that she's not giving Elena false hope or pointing her in the wrong direction.

Elena nodded her head, aware she has to tell Stefan soon. Before things get out of the control.

**xxxx**

Stefan was sitting in the corner of his couch with a bottle of beer in his hand, trying to find something entertaining to watch. He was able to come home earlier from work today since there were no surgeries, and he was not needed in the hospital. As he found a fairly entertaining movie to watch, someone rang his doorbell.

He had put the bottle of beer on the coffee table and lazily got up from the couch, dragging himself to open the front door.

„Elena" – he said in astonishment as he opened the door of his apartment.

She looked up at him as he said her name and smiled gently. „Hey. I'm sorry if I'm intruding, but I really need to talk to you" – she said as the blush appeared on her cheeks.

Stefan stepped away from the entrance and smiled as gently as she was smiling at him. „Come on in, then" – he said.

He wondered what does she have to talk to him about. Part of him was hoping she had changed her mind about the date, but he doubted she would come all over to his apartment to tell him so. As the thoughts made a mess out of his mind, he started worrying about what does she want to talk to him about. Thousand of impossible and possible scenarios popped up in his head, of which some made zero sense whatsoever.

„Please, take a seat" – he said, guiding her towards the couch.

She sat down, and he sat on the other side of the couch. He looked into her eyes, and all he could see was fear. Her eyes were glossier than usual, and he knew tears are the reason why. The little smile in the corners of her lips was trembling, and the tanned skin of her face was now pale.

„There's no easy way to say this, so I'm simply going to say it as it is" – she smiled at him nervously as she played with the fingers of her hand, intertwining them, making little scars with her nails on her fingertips.

The expression of his face was serious. He was scared, and curious, and many other things, but he was trying to keep his cool, although his mind was racing, and his heart was pounding wildly. Reality can't be worse than his imagination, he was sure of that.

„I'm pregnant" – she said, locking her eyes on his.

His eyes grew wider. For a moment there, he thought he didn't hear her right, but after staring into her eyes for few moments, he realized he did hear her right. The thoughts in his mind were replaced by new ones, but his heart was racing with the same intensity it was before she informed him she's pregnant. He was staring at her like some kind of an idiot, and he knew that his stare was blank. His lips parted a little out of shock, but no words came out of his mouth. He did not know what to say. His hands started shaking, but he grabbed one of his hands with another, so she doesn't notice. He did not want to scare her.

„How did this happen?" – he asked nervously. It was a stupid question, but he did not know what else to ask, and the silence between them became more than awkward.

„I think it's pretty obvious how it happened" – she blushed as she lowered her look on the ground.

Funny. „No, I mean, aren't you on the pill?" – he wanted to slap himself for that question, because it sounded like all of this was her fault.

She raised her head up in a hurry. „Yes, I am. And the pill is - "

„99 percent efficient" – he interrupted her in the middle of her sentence. He knew that, he was a doctor. They teach you this kind of stuff in the medical school. Hell, they teach you this kind of stuff in the 6th grade.

She wiggled her lips and nodded. „Yes. So congratulations mister one percent" – she blabbed out nervously.

But he did not mind. He did not care. He knew she's as uncomfortable as he was.

Neither of them knew what to say. She went back to staring at the ground, and he was absent in his thoughts.

How did he not remember to wear a condom? If not because of the pregnancy, because of sexually transmitted diseases circling around. Nice job, doctor, he thought to himself.

He looked at her, and she looked like she's going to explode. Melt. Burst into tears.

„What are you going to do?" – he tried to calm his trembling voice down.

She raised her head to face him. „What do you think I should do?" – she asked with a shaky voice.

He sighed. „I do not know you. We're not in a relationship, and I cannot tell you what to do with your body" – he inhaled deeply and loudly – „But I do not believe in abortion" – this sentence caught her attention. He's a doctor, he was supposed to respect the actions of the patient. But now, he was not a doctor, and she was not a patient. He was a human being, with his own personal opinions that had nothing to do with his line of work. „I believe in abortion only when it's justified. In the case of rape, or if there are serious health issues that could endanger the child, the mother or both" – he tried to explain with a soothing voice, keeping his eyes locked on hers.

„I have no money" – she said – „Even if I decide to make an abortion, I do not have any money" – her voice was shattering under the preassure. „Which means I have no money to raise a child. I'm all alone, in a new town. And the father of my child" – she stopped to swallow – „I do not even know him."

Stefan rubbed the palms of his hands against each other. He could not believe how stupid he was. How one time mistake backfired on him.

„Whatever you decide to do, I will support you. Money is no problem, especially since that child is mine as much as it's yours" – he bit his lower lip.

Elena's eyes wandered over his apartment. Talking to him made her see things in a new light. Maybe.. maybe she could do this. Maybe she could have this child, and maybe she could be a mother. Maybe this was fate. Maybe this child is exactly what she needs. Maybe this child will help her in the ways she's not able to help herself.

„I need to think about this" – she stood up from the couch and crossed her arms on her chest.

„Be sure to let me know when you decide what to do" – he stood up, but even before he knew it, she disappeared from his apartment, leaving a scent of lavander shampoo behind her.

He fell back on the couch and buried his face in the palms of his hands. He was thinking about how stupidly irresponsible he was. As a man, and as a doctor. How he ruined his life, and the life of someone he knew nothing about, and who by the look of things, was not in an easy situation.

He remembered how Elena said she has no money, and how she's alone in new town, which to him smelled fishy. To him, it seemed like she's in some kind of a pickle. Like she has a lot of problems on her plate, maybe running from someone, or something.

But in this moment, none of that mattered. Who she was, what her problems are, none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was that she was carrying his child.

He told her the truth, he did not believe in abortion, not when it comes to the people in their kind of situation. Young people who were emloyed, able, responsible, healthy adults.

But was he ready to be a father? He did not even think about stepping over his beliefs now when he found himself in that kind of a situation, but he was worried about what kind of a father would he be. He wanted children, he wanted lots of them. But he was supposed to be married. Mother of his children was supposed to be his wife, the woman he loved, the woman he planned to spend the rest of his life with.

There was something about Elena that lured him in, that keeps luring him in from the moment he first saw her in the bar. But she does not feel the same about him, and if she does, she hides it well. But she was a stranger, nevertheless.

He thought about calling Caroline, he needed to talk to someone, but he was too buried in his own thoughts to listen to someone else's opinions.

So he decided to sleep on it before shocking his best friend.

**xxxx**

**A/N: I see some people are excited about the baby, and some are disappointed the story has taken this turn. Honestly, this was the plan from the beginning, therefor the tittle, beautiful accident. Those who are excited about the baby, good, and those who are doubtful I can assure you of one thing - Stefan and Elena will not be together, nor will they fall in love because of the baby.**

**When I started writing this story, I wanted to write something different. I did not want to write a happy story where they're both hurt, meet, heal each other, fall in love and live happily ever after. No, I want them to suffer, and honestly, this baby is a plot device for everything but their love story. Sure, the existence of the baby will make them spend more time together, but they will not fall in love because they have a child, and they will not feel pressured because of that fact. The main reason why this baby exists is Elena. I simply did not want to write her as a scared little girl who Stefan heals with his love. No, she does not trust men anymore, and she would not let Stefan come close to her emotionally, that's why there's a baby, to keep my Elena in character, because for someone emotionally abused as her would be ooc to fall in love so quickly. This baby is here so I can write Elena as a strong, independent woman who made a radical choice, and who because of the responsibility towards he child, wants to get her life on track. Stefan is a guy who has certain beliefs, who wanted a certain kind of life for himself - so now when he found himself in this kind of a situation, situation that is a complete opposite of what he wanted, will he be able to find happiness in it? So yeah, I can assure you that this baby will not be the reason why they fall in love. Stefan and Elena will fall in love because of the reason they do in every fan fiction, the reason they did in the show - because it's meant to be. I hope you can accept my idea and enjoy the story.**

**Lots of love.**


	6. Decisions

Elena was lying on her bed, with her face buried in the palms of her hands. Her eyes were shutting down on their own due to the lack of sleep she was experiencing this past week. Her mind was full of thoughts, thoughts which were pushing her to make a decision, but in the same time, stopping her from doing so.

She threw away her pro and con list. She realized this situation is much more serious than she made herself believe, and that she will need a lot more than a pro and con list to solve it.

The truth was, she could not find one reasonable point to why she should keep the baby. Her conversation with Stefan only made things harder. She was aware he will help her, but she also knew he won't be here all the time. She wondered can she do this alone. She had no room for a baby in her little, tiny apartment, nor was this part of the town the best place to raise a child. She did not have money to afford herself anything better. Stefan said money is not an issue, but she would feel bad taking money for him, she barely knows him.

She also wondered how come he accepted the idea of a baby so quickly, without even asking her is she sure he's a father, or asking for a paternity test. Most guys his age would freak out and defend themselves, but he was trying to stay perfectly calm, although she had noticed the fear in his eyes. _"Stefan is not like the rest of them"_, she remembered Lexi's words.

She did not feel that nauseous anymore, and morning sickness became a rarity, although it was still existent. There was no more dizziness, though. If it was not confirmed, Elena would not even think she's pregnant anymore. There was no sign that baby exists inside of her.

Except, she knew it does.

She wanted a cup of coffee so badly, but she knew drinking coffee is not so good during the pregnancy, except decaf one one rare occasions, few times a month only. But Elena could not see the point in decaf.

For a moment, she dismissed her thoughts about the baby, and started thinking about Stefan.

The soft lines of his face, his perfectly shaped lips, how easy her name slipped down his throat, humming it like her name is his favorite melody, the gentle way he touched her, or how his fingers pressed deeply on her skin, leaving an eternal mark on her body. She couldn't help but wonder, what if she met Stefan first. Her life would be completely different. For a moment, she had let herself slip into the fairytale world, where no one had ever hurt her, because he didn't exist in her life. She replaced him with Stefan, with a man who looked at her like she's something precious, even thought he didn't know her. She day dreamed about telling him she's pregnant, creating a scenario in her head where he's happy about it, where he takes her in his arms and twirls her around the room, telling her he cannot wait to start a family with her - because he loves her, and wants to spend the rest of his life with her.

Reality had its way of creeping back in, so she snapped out from the world she fell in, and remembered she hadn't met Stefan first, and he's not happy about having baby - or he's not happy about having a baby with her. If he ever wanted anything with her, he for sure doesn't want now. And she could never be with him. She could never be with anyone else ever again.

This baby.. this baby is all that she has.

She grabbed her phone from the table and dialed Stefan's number.

**xxxx**

"She's pregnant?" - Caroline dropped some fashion magazine on the coffee table as Stefan gave her the news about Elena's pregnancy.

Stefan wanted to tell Caroline a week ago, when Elena informed him, but that day he fell asleep, and did not wake up until the morning. When he called Caroline's office the next day, they told him she's in Europe on some business trip. She came back today. She did not even have time to unpack when Stefan was on her door with two cups from Starbucks in his hands. Caroline welcomed him, more coffee than him, and he gave her the news, starting with the small introduction about how does she remember Elena.

Stefan nodded as he captured the shocked expression on Caroline's face. She fell back in her favorite round, leather armchair as shock wavered on her face.

"So, is she going to have a baby?" - Caroline asked curiously, leaning forward, closer to Stefan. She took a sip of now cold coffee he brought with himself. She was used to cold coffee, though. Her assistant always brought her coffee on time, hot, double cream, one drop of sugar coffee, that would usually spread its pleasant smell all over her working space. But by the time Caroline got time to take a sip, coffee would be cold. Sometimes she wondered does she even remember the taste of hot coffee, and would she even like it.

"I do not know. She doesn't know herself. She said she has to think about it, and that she will let me know" - Stefan bit his lower lip.

Caroline could see some conflicting thoughts behind those beautiful green eyes of his.

"And you? What would you prefer?" - she asked.

He looked at her. He didn't think about what he wants. He thought about what Elena wants. About her decisions. And about what is best for the baby. No one asked him what he wants, nor did he feel like a part of this, or like he has a right to express his wishes.

"You know this is not what I wanted" - he sunk his front teeth in his lower lip - "I do not want to be a weekend dad" - she could see tears behind his eyes. But that is the price he has to pay for his irresponsible ways. And that child will have to pay for his parents mistakes. He will be so close to having a family, but he will not have it.

Caroline could see the pain in his eyes, and she knew her best friend very well. So she decided to not push anymore questions on him, because she knew that's the last thing he needs, to be showered by more questions. Stefan was very sentimental, and he had a constant need to be perfect - not for himself, but for others. He did not want to let anyone down, so even the slightest mistake he would make, would remain in his memory for a very long time. This one will stick with him for a lifetime.

So Caroline decided to do what she does best - try to cheer him up.

"But if she does have a baby" - a grin appeared on her face - "I will be aunty Caroline" - she clapped with palms of her hands excitedly.

Stefan looked at his friend and smiled. Mission accomplished.

But now, Caroline was actually excited, as the thought popped into her head. She was not ready to have a child. She could not even take care of her plants. Few years ago, she bought a goldfish, and she forgot she even had it. She started piling papers in front of its aquarium, and she remembered her fish only when she could smell something like.. well, dead fish. But she was so ready to be an aunt, or a Godmother.

Something flickered in Caroline's eyes as she took a sketch pad from under the table. "I already know it will be a girl" - she announced as Stefan watched her with an entertaining smile on his face - "I need to start working on baby clothes" - she tied her hair up in a messy bun and tried to find a pencil in the mess she called living room. Stefan was sure nothing could survive in Caroline's apartment, not even rats. They would be stupid to try to sneak in her apartment. She started pulling a pencil over a sharp paper, but before she was even able to finish a straight line she started to draw, she had let go off the pencil that slipped down the pad and she raised her head in bewilderment. "I have an idea for a new line" - her eyes grew wider - "Baby Care" - she smiled like a child. "Because - "

"Your name is Caroline" - Stefan repeated a well known sentence. He heard it a million times. Every line she ever designed had something to do with the word Care. Except her men line, her men line was called Diego, by some guy she met at Hawaii while she was on vacation. Apparently, he was her muse. But he broke her heart, and she decided to quit working on her men line all together.

Caroline smirked at him.

Stefan could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket. He took it out and saw Elena's number on the screen of his phone.

Caroline locked her eyes on him.

"It's her" - he said, before answering the call.

**xxxx**

Stefan was a little surprised when he drove in front of Elena's building, although he did not know why since she had told him she has no money. He was not judging her, or underestimating her, most of all, he was pitying her, because someone as smart, capable and beautiful should not be living in these conditions.

Elena called him while he was at Caroline's, telling him she made a decision and asking can he come over to her place, because she did not want to talk about it over the phone. She gave him her home address and he came there in 20 minutes time.

He climbed all the way to the 5th floor, since there was no elevator, and knocked on her door.

When she opened the door and stood in front of him, he could see how tired she really was. There were mid sized black circles under her eyes, only making her brown eyes even darker. Despite the fact she was pregnant, she was very skinny. Her arms were thin, as well as her legs, and her hips lost that nice shape they had when he met her for the first time. The only thing that remained the same was her face. Despite her tiredness, her cheeks were puffy and red, and her lips were one perfect, thick line on her face.

She invited him inside, and he glanced around her apartment, although there wasn't much to see. The only other doors except the front door were the ones leading to the bathroom. The kitchen was divided by a wall from her living room, which was her bedroom too. She sat on the couch, and Stefan pulled out a chair and sat by the small, round dining table in the center of the room.

"Despite everything that makes some sense in this world" - she said, pushing her hair behind with her fingers - "I decided to keep the baby" - the corners of her lips curved up in a barely visible smile.

He could see a glimmer of happiness behind her eyes.

And happiness struck him too, from the inside. Maybe this was not what he wanted, or how he planned his life to turn out, but it was still his child, and he was happy about it being born.

"I'm glad" - he smiled at her, and she could feel his smile is genuine.

He glanced around her apartment once again, this time with a frown on his face, a frown she had managed to capture, so she blushed out of embarrassment.

"There's something I want to talk to you about" - he locked his eyes on her face, and he noticed her blushy cheeks and the embarrassed look in his eyes, for which he felt instantly guilty, so he realized he needs to pick his words wisely and carefully. "I'm not criticizing you in any way, but this is not an environment someone should live in, especially not a pregnant woman, or a baby" - he looked at her so gently that she had a feeling he's caressing her cheek with his eyes.

She was aware of that. The neighborhood she lived in was a disaster, and her building looked like it will crumble any second now. It was full of holes, and dust, and mold, and there were bugs everywhere.

"I know" - her voice was silent - "But this is all I can afford now" - she lowered her head so she doesn't have to look him in the eyes.

"I'm aware of that" - he continued talking with the same, gentle voice - "And I have a proposition for you" - his words made her raise her head in wonder and curiosity. "You move in with me" - he said in all seriousness, although for a moment there she thought he was joking.

His idea was crazy, but so was the idea of her having a baby.

She did not know what to say, she simply kept staring at him blankly.

He started playing with his fingers nervously, startled he had scared her. "My building has an elevator, so you would not have to climb these stairs. I could drive you to work, while you're able to work, of course, and if you want to. Also, I have two extra bedrooms, which were never used" - his speech made her look him in the eyes - "The only thing you have to be worried about really is my euphoric best friend" - he smiled nervously, and in order for him to feel better, she smiled back, although the only thing she wanted to do was to scream.

"Stefan, you do not owe anything to me" - she said with a husky voice.

"I know that" - he said, although he thought he owes her the world. She's in this situation because of him. "But I owe that child everything. And by taking care of you, I'm taking care him" - he looked down at her stomach, although there was nothing visible there yet. "You will be living with me, and by the time you're ready to move out, you will have enough money for a decent place" - he tried to make her understand his proposition makes sense.

He simply wanted to take of her. He wanted to take care of someone. He had to. He had to save someone, since he wasn't able to save any of them. He saved her, and she slipped out of his fingers.

"Okay" - she agreed to it. He had a point. It's not healthy to carry a baby in this kind of an environment.

He nodded and stood up on his feet. "Does next week works for you?" - he asked, already turning around and grabbing the handle of the door.

"Yes" - she said silently. As soon as he heard her answer, he opened the doors a little before he heard her calling his name. "For a paternity test, can you wait until the baby is born? It's not good for the baby to do it during the pregnancy" - she remembered. And she wanted to keep this baby safe. She screwed up everything, she destroys everything that meets her eyes. She's not going to screw this baby up.

Stefan turned his head around a little, enough for her to see his furrowing brows. "I do not need a paternity test" - he said before he disappeared from her apartment, leaving her in awe.


	7. Bad Memories

_She was sitting in the corner of a small, brown couch they kept in their living room. She entered the apartment moments ago, beat from two exams she had to take, made herself a hot cup of apple and cinnamon tea, and sat down to rest for a moment. She enjoyed it. The silence, the loneliness. The only thing she could hear was tea crashing on her lips whenever she decided to take another sip, and her slow and steady breathing. At moments, she was convinced she can hear the beating of her own heart. She wished this moment can last forever. If not forever, then a little bit longer than she knew it's going to last._

_But she knew she's not that lucky. She knew he always comes home at 7pm, not a minute before, not a minute later, but 7pm sharp. His shift ends at 5:30pm, which gives him enough time to go with his work buddies she never had a pleasure of meeting, to a nearby bar, and have a couple of drinks. Sometimes a couple of drinks too much. But he did not know his limit when it comes to alcohol. He did not know his limit when it comes to anything._

_She looked at the clock. 6:58pm. Her throat tightened, and she squeezed a hot cup in her hands, convinced it will leave marks on her palms. She took another sip and inhaled deeply. She closed her eyes and tried to relax her suddenly tensed body, although she was stiff from her toes to her shoulders. Her brain stopped working properly. She heard a key entering the lock of their front door. It took it a while for him to unlock the door, which was enough for her to realize this is one of the days he had one too many drinks in the bar._

_He finally stumbled in the apartment, silently closing the doors behind him. He saw her curled up on the couch, with her knees under her chin._

_"Hey" - he said, and she could smell the alcohol in his breath all the way from where he was standing. But he had a smile on his face, one that bordered with devilish smirk. So maybe he's not going to do it today. Maybe he's not going to scream, and maybe he will not insult her in every way he knows how. Maybe she did not do anything wrong today._

_"Hey" - she smiled back, putting the cup on the old, wooden coffee table in front of the couch._

_"What's for dinner?" - he asked as he glanced at the empty dining table in the middle of the small kitchen._

_"Is there something you would like?" - she asked, keeping a smile on her face._

_He turned his head in her direction and looked her in the eyes. He was not smiling anymore, his face was dead serious, and the look in his eyes could tell her only one thing - she did do something wrong after all._

_"The dinner is not ready yet?" - he hissed, like a snake, while he stumbled in her direction._

_He stood in front of her, and she had put her hands around her knees and pulled them closer to her body. It looked like she was trying to push her legs inside of her torso, like she was trying to curve into a ball, like she was trying to.. disappear._

_"I just got home" - she said silently. She wanted to add so many things to that sentence. Like how she had no time to prepare dinner, or how she was tired and how they should order something from a take our restaurant. But she knew any kind of an excuse would only make the situation worse._

_"Are you trying to tell me that after a long, hard day of work I do not even deserve a hot dinner plate when I come home?" - he raised his voice while looking her in the eyes. She wanted to break the eye contact, but she knew that would only make him more mad. He would be furious._

_"You do" - she barely stuttered those two simple words. She inhaled deeply - "I'll make the dinner now."_

_She was about to stand on her feet, but he pushed her back on the couch. He was not going to let her slide out of this one so easily, she knew it. Maybe if he was sober, she would be able to calm him down, but now, there was no chance of doing so._

_"Are you trying to tell me your day was harder than mine?" - his face was red, and he was screaming now. When he was sober, his rage would rise gradually, especially if she did not answer him, or if she answered him using the wrong words, but when he was drunk, his rage built up faster. "Did the whole day of sitting in one place and drinking coffee with your pretentious friends tire you so much you had to rest and drink" - he lowered his look on the coffee table and took a cup in his hand - "tea" - he said when he figured out the content of the cup as he turned it upside down and poured the drink on the white carpet - "instead of making me dinner?" - the cup fell out of his hand and shattered in pieces on the floor. "How selfish are you?" - he lowered himself down and screamed in her face._

_Shivers went down her spine. She could feel his breath on her face, mix of beer and vodka and something else she could not recognize. And his breath burned her eyes like garlic, and the first tear fell down her cheek, a tear she could not control. She was not even aware of the tears in her eyes. She wished he would hit her. She wished he would beat the living crap out of her so she can be done with him, so she does not have to endure his words._

_But she knew that's not going to happen. He never did hit her. Sometimes he would push her, not even hard, but he never raised a hand on her, or anything else for that matter._

_"I'm sorry" - she managed to say._

_"You're not sorry, you're incapable of doing anything that is required from you!" - he yelled, and she wondered can their neighbors hear him, and if they can, why does nobody come to help her, why does nobody call for help. "You're nothing, you serve for nothing, you only waste air" - he kept stumbling around the living room, and she squeezed her legs next to her torso again, her knees were pressed so hard next to her chest that she thought they will pierce through her skin and flesh and make her heart stop beating. Then he came back in front of her and looked at her sharply - "Or do you think you're better than me? Do you laugh at me, do you take pity of me, because I work like a dog when I should be in college? Or do you take a pleasure in it, knowing I'll be doing this low life jobs for the rest of me life, while you're a part of higher education?" - she could see the veins on his neck popping out as he screamed at her._

_"No!" - she cried out._

_"Stop crying!" - he commanded her - "You look ugly when you cry" - this sentence he said more silently._

_He brushed the palm of his hand over his eyes. He was tired, and the alcohol in his blood was making him sleepy. He rubbed his eyes before looking at her, sitting on the couch, trying to make herself stop crying._

_"Clean the mess you made" - he pointed at the stain the tea made on the white carpet and pieces of broken cup on the floor - "And then make me dinner" - he said calmly before walking away from her and loudly shutting the doors of their bedroom behind him._

_And she did as he said. She cleaned the stain and picked up the shattered cup from the floor. As she was making him dinner, she remembered his words from the other day - "You allow me to talk to you like this because you know I'm right. You put up with me because you know no one else would want you."_

_When she finished the dinner, she silently opened the doors of the bedroom to tell him the dinner is ready, only to find him sleeping in the middle of the bed._

_He never did eat the dinner she prepared for him._

**xxxx**

"That was the last box" - Stefan announced as he carried a mid sized, brown box with 'clothes' written over it in his hands. He dropped the box on the pile of other, identical boxes and closed the front door behind him.

Yesterday, Lexi came over to Elena's apartment to help her pack her things, although there wasn't much to pack. But she did not want Elena to strain herself in her condition, just like Stefan did not want her to do so, so when she wanted to bring her things up to his apartment, he did not want to hear about it. Since Elena did not have many things of her own, and all the furniture in the apartment was not hers, but came with the apartment, there was enough room in the trunk of Lexi's car for all of her boxes. When they arrived in front of Stefan's building, he was waiting for them in the parking lot, and insisted that both of them go upstairs and let him handle the boxes. At first, Elena refused, but when she saw that both Stefan and Lexi ganged up on her, she gave in. Stefan also paid the rent for her apartment for this month, since she lived there for only few days of new month, and Stefan found it unfair for her to spend her money on something she won't even use. And Elena had let him. She hated this feeling, like she's taking advantage of him, but she needed help. She hated that, too. The fact that she needed help.

Elena and Lexi were sitting on the leather sofa, drinking coffee Lexi made for them, and laughing. When Stefan made his presence known, laughter stopped and Lexi announced she should be going with an excuse she works a night shift, therefor she needs more sleep. Both Stefan and Elena took a day off, so they can settle her in.

"Come here" - Stefan said to Elena as he picked three boxes from the pile and started walking down the hallway of the apartment. Elena got up on her feet and followed him.

He opened the first door on the left and inside she could see large, modernly decorated bedroom. It had a king size bed under which was big, white, fluffy carpet. There was a large window stretching over the half of the wall, and on the wall across the window there was a big wardrobe and a dresser next to it. On the wall across the bed there was a tv set with small, leather sofa and tiny coffee table in front of it.

"This will be your room" - he had put the boxes on the bed and turned around to face her - "You can do with it whatever you want. Feel like you're at home" - he smiled at her.

A home. She did not have a place she could call her home in quite some while.

"Is there someone you could call?" - Stefan asked, meeting her confused face expression. "To let them know you're pregnant" - he looked down at her stomach, but there was nothing there. Not even a slightest hint that she was pregnant. "Family, friends, anyone?" - he asked again.

She shook her head. "My parents are dead" - she said with a heavy voice - "And I lost contact with the rest of my family a long time ago. Everyone I know are back in L.A, although they stopped being my friends long time before I moved here. And my boyfriend was kind of a jerk" - she blabbed out. She did not know why did she tell him all of this. She should have simply say no, and that would probably be enough for him. But part of her believed he deserves an explanation. "Do you want to tell anyone?" - she raised her head only to notice he's already looking at her.

He shook his head too. "Both of my parents died, too" - he cleared his throat - "Lexi you have already met, and my other best friend, Caroline, already knows too. She wants to meet you" - he smiled at her, and she smiled back. Female company could not hurt her at this time. Any kind of company could not hurt her. Not more than she was already hurting. "And my ex was kind of a jerk too" - he said through light, but painful laughter. Elena remembered the nurses talking about Stefan and his ex, some of them called her his fiance, but she never joined the rumors, nor was she interested in what happened. "I have a brother" - he said after few moments of thinking - "He lives with his family on the edge of the town" - he started playing with his fingers nervously.

"You should tell him" - Elena said, but then worry washed her face. Why was she telling him what should he do?

"Yeah" - Stefan said silently - "Anyway, you're welcome to stay here for as long as you want" - he moved past her, and when he already stepped into the hallway, he yelled - "I'm going to bring the rest of the boxes to your room."

**xxxx**

_He could not wait to come home that day. When he left for work this morning, she was still sleeping, so he didn't have a chance to talk to her, or to hug her, or to kiss her properly. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, gently and carefully, so he would not wake her up. That is what made this day different from all the other days, and this is why he was in a hurry to come home._

_While he was driving home, he kept thinking about how lucky he is. He has a job that he loves, his career is building by itself, and his fiance is the most amazing woman in the world, he was sure of it. He was convinced that even if he searched the whole world, he would not find someone as amazing as she is. He could not believe how in love with her he was, either. In his whole life, he did not think it's possible to love someone as much as he loves her._

_The doorman opened the front doors for him and smiled nervously. Almost pitifully. But Stefan thought he's imagining things and prescribed his hallucinations to his sleepiness. The doors of their apartment were open, which he found weird, because even though they lived in the nice neighborhood, she was always afraid of someone breaking in. You never lose your old fears, especially not the ones that get under your skin._

_"I'm home" - he said as he opened the front door._

_It was dark, so he turned on the lights._

_"Sweetie, are you home?" - he yelled, but there was no answer._

_He noticed the key on the kitchen counter. Something stirred inside of his stomach. There was a piece of paper under the key. He opened it and recognized her handwriting. When he finished reading the letter for the first time, he knew he will not forget it for as long as he lives. Not even one word. But some of the words kept buzzing in his head more than the others. We fell in love. We're so sorry, Stefan. I hope you can understand. I hope you can forgive us. I hope you will find the happiness you deserve._

_There was his mothers ring under the letter. The ring he gave her when he proposed to her. The ring he slid down her finger when she said yes, when she said she will become his wife._

_He checked the apartment. All of her things were gone. Everything._

_He took a bottle of beer from the fridge and fell on the sofa. In that moment, he could not feel anything. He was empty. There was no pain, no happiness, nothing. It was like he was unable to feel, and with that, he was unable to move. He stayed in that position for few hours, and then Caroline came by, worried because he was not answering her calls._

_She kept asking what's wrong, but he could not form a sentence, so he pushed a piece of paper in her hands. When she was done reading, she sat next to him, and he lowered his head in her lap. And all of sudden, he could feel. He could feel everything. And with that, tears started falling down his cheek, and they did not stop falling until he fell asleep._


	8. Family

She came home about the same time Stefan was ready to leave the apartment. It was around 7am, and she sleepily dragged herself from the night shift, only to catch Stefan by the kitchen counter, sipping his morning coffee and reading today's papers before work. He offered to come to the hospital and drive her home, but she refused, saying she's able to take care of herself, and that bus is not such as dangerous place as he thinks it is.

It was weird calling the place she was living in a home. It was weird calling Stefan's place, her place too. But it felt like home. Even though she knew she's not going to stay there for a long time, she had allowed herself to feel comfortable, because she felt safe. After a long time, she finally felt safe. There were moments when she would find herself worrying about things she used to worry when she was with him, and it took her time to remember she's not living that life anymore. Having Stefan around, she felt better, because she knew he's going to keep her safe. She's carrying his child, after all.

Living with Stefan was pleasant. The apartment was big enough, so if one of them felt like being alone, they could easily get away from another one. It was weird in the beginning, for both him and her, living with a stranger. It took Elena a while to get used to it, but Stefan kept repeating how everything she sees she's able to use, and how this place is her home as much as it is his. It seemed like he adjusted to having her there quicker than she did, so she decided to follow his pace.

And after some time, Stefan was not a stranger anymore. She did not know his secrets, or met his family and friends, she did not know about his past, but she knew the little things about him. She knew his daily routine, she knew his favorite meal is mac and cheese, she knew he likes to cook, she knew he takes his coffee with one spoon of sugar, she knew which beer he likes, and many other things you would learn from living with someone, even if you knew nothing about them before.

Their schedules were practically the same, so they would leave and come home about the same time. Some days, like today, were an exception. But when both of them were home, Stefan tried to spend as much time with her as he could, asking her about her future plans, about the names for a baby, does she want a boy or a girl. She had a feeling he's trying to make this situation easier for her by trying to make her believe he's looking forward to having this baby with her, like he's trying to make this pregnancy a pleasurable experience. He was trying to turn a bad situation into something good, and sometimes, that was fine with her, she enjoyed pretending this is a happy experience for them. But then reality would hit her, and she would remember this game is only a pretend. She knew he doesn't want this, Lexi told her herself Stefan always imagined a different future for himself. So did she, she used to dream about a big house, white picket fence and a family, but this pregnancy was reflecting better on her than it did on him. It made her.. stronger. It helped her feel different, feel better, feel more. Feel like she's doing something good, like for once, she did something right.

But nevertheless, he would cook for her, and they would eat together, and he would ask her about her day although he witnessed the better part of it. He would often ask her about her past, but when she seemed not so eager to answer some questions, he would move on from them. Living with him gave her a chance to answer a question she was asking herself for quite some time - how would her life turn out if she had met Stefan first, if he was the man she fell in love with? And the sight before her eyes was beautiful, and from time to time, she would allow herself to enjoy it. But not often, and not for too long, because after some time, her mind would start playing tricks on her, and she would end up being hurt.

Stefan seemed less sad than he was when she had met him for the first time. There were times when he was still sad, but his sadness was lessening with time, and Lexi had noticed that too. Stefan never talked about him, or his family, or his past. He would always be the one asking questions and absorbing her answers like a sponge.

When Stefan left for work, she decided to take a shower before going to sleep. She took a quick shower and when she stepped out from the tub, she did not wrap a towel around her body, but stood in front of a wall length mirror beside the bathroom door. She caressed her stomach with the palm of her hand. There was a baby bump, which was a little bit larger then in usually was in women during their third month of pregnancy. Lexi said it's because of her petite figure. The bump was visible through her clothes, but when she was naked, you could see its true size a little bit better. Elena thought about how perfect it looks. How magnificent, almost unreal. She heard stories about how women felt during their pregnancies, but she had no idea how much the act of carrying a child and a process of becoming a mother, can have an effect on your life. She did not see this baby, she did not name it or know it, but she already knew she loves it. She knew she would use her last drop of strength to protect her child, that she would be devastated to the point of no return if something happened to it, and that she is going to do everything in her power to provide this child with everything it needs, wants and deserves.

Suddenly, she heard the front door opening and closing with a loud shout. "Stefan" - she heard a woman's voice shouting from the kitchen.

Quickly, she had put on her underwear and a big, baggy men's shirt she usually sleeps in, and left the bathroom. She was a tad nervous because she did not meet any of Stefan's acquaintances other than Lexi.

When she came to the kitchen she saw a young, blonde woman sitting by the kitchen counter. Elena could see she's biting her lip as she went through a magazine in her hands. When she noticed Elena she jumped on her feet, and Elena could see the woman is about the same height as she was. She was dressed modernly, in shiny, black leather pants, same colored heels and a white, fringe shirt with "Rock 'n' Roll" written on it.

"You're not Stefan" - she said as she checked Elena out from head to toe. Then her look fell on Elena's baby bump that was barely visible over her baggy shirt. Her eyes widened as she moved her look back to Elena's face. "You're Elena" - a smile appeared on the woman's face and she started walking towards her, then pulling her into a long hug, like they're best friends who haven't seen each other for years. Elena hugged her back, it seemed rude not to do it.

"I'm Caroline" - she said after she had let Elena go out of the hug. Of course, Stefan's best friend. Blonde, hyper, cheerful, friendly. "I'm sure Stefan had told you loads about me" - Caroline said through laughter while placing her hands on her hips.

Elena smiled back at her and nodded. "Nice to finally meet you" - she did not stretch her hand to Caroline since they already hugged, she did not find it necessary.

"Likewise. So, where is the baby daddy" - she cocked her eyebrow at Elena.

"Stefan's at work" - she smiled tiredly while putting her hand on the top of her bump. It was a reflex. She did it often, especially when she was home. It came naturally to her.

"Darn it. I just came back from Europe so time is a foreign concept to me. Do you mind if I make myself coffee?" - Caroline was talking really fast, too fast if it were up to Elena. Elena smiled and shook her head. "Do you want one too?" - Caroline was examining Stefan's coffee machine like it was an object from outer space.

Elena smiled as she watched Caroline. "Here, let me do it" - she said and Caroline stepped away from the coffee machine and sat back on the chair.

"Thanks. I'm an idiot when it comes to the kitchen appliances. Or the kitchen" - she laughed at her own words. Elena laughed too as she prepared coffee. When the coffee machine started working it's magic, Elena sat on the chair next to Caroline. Caroline took a handful of pretzels in her hand and started throwing them in her mouth one by one.

"So, have you and Stefan done the deed yet? Again, obviously" - she asked with a mouth full of salty snacks.

Elena's face went pale, every inch of it, except her cheeks, which were red. "It's not like that between us" - she was trying to cover up the blush on her cheeks.

"Oh" - Caroline said, embarrassed - "I did not mean to put you in an awkward situation. I simply hoped.." - she stopped in the middle of her sentence, deciding on should she finish it or not.

"Hoped what?" - Elena asked curiously.

"Hoped that the two of you might hit it of. Fall in love. Start a family. Be happy. The end" - blush washed over Caroline's cheeks too.

"I do not think that is ever going to happen. What happened between us was an accident, and that's not a foundation to build a relationship on" - she surprised herself. Build a relationship? She was not even aware she would be open to building a relationship with anyone. Must be the hormones. "Plus, he seems.. broken" - she finished the sentence when she thought she found the right word.

Caroline sighed. "He is broken. I think that you, this situation, are patching him up. I think you staying here is what's helping him move on" - Caroline had put another bunch of pretzels in her mouth.

"But why is he broken? He has everything" - Elena looked around the apartment that was decorated costly, and modernly.

"Not everything" - Caroline's face adapted a sad expression - "But that's not on me to tell."

Elena parted her lips to apologize for butting in, but in that moment the coffee machine made a sound, letting them know the coffee is done, and Caroline hopped down her chair.

**xxxx**

"I'm home" - Stefan announced as he opened the front door of the apartment.

"Hey bestie" - he heard a well known voice greeting him.

He raised his head up and saw Caroline sitting next to Elena on the couch.

"You're back" - he smiled as he approached her and kissed the top of her temple. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and part of her wished he would greet Elena the same way he greeted her, but he didn't. He simply smiled in her direction and she smiled back at him. They're not there yet. But they will be, Caroline thought as a devilish smirk appeared on her face. "I see the two of you met" - he did not tear his look away from Caroline.

Caroline nodded. "She's precious" - she said with a big smile on her face - "I was telling her about how I'm going to design the baby collection and your baby will be my first model" - she clapped with the palms of her hands, but then she frowned - "Unless it's a boy. We do not want another Diego incident."

"Diego incident?" - Elena asked curiously, and Stefan's look flew in her direction. Caroline could not help herself but notice it.

"I'll tell you everything about it the next time we see each other" - she smiled at Elena. "Anyway, I have to go now" - she got up from the couch and looked at Stefan - "Salvatore, you, me, drinks, tomorrow" - she told him before kissing his cheek, then Elena's, and happily walking through the front door. Stefan had to laugh at how cheerful she was.

As soon as Caroline closed the door behind her, Stefan's look fell on Elena.

"How are you feeling?" - he asked her as his look fell on her baby bump. In that moment she realized he had never touched it. Or asked to touch it. She had read it's good for parents to make a contact with their unborn child. She touched her baby bump often, to her, it came naturally. Sometimes she would even talk with the baby, when she was alone. But he never expressed the wish to do so. He would often glance at it, but from a safe distance.

"Little tired" - she smiled and realized she was about to head to the bed when Caroline came over. Excitement of meeting one of Stefan's close friends was keeping her awake.

"I'm sorry for Caroling barging in. She does that often."

"It's no trouble. I like her."

"You do?" - he asked excitedly, like he wasn't expecting it to happen.

Elena smiled and nodded. "She's a little forward, but she's very cheerful, and friendly, and talkative. Very fun to be around with."

Stefan was glad to hear that. His ex basically shooed Lexi away. Elena is going to be a part of his life from now on, and he was glad she liked both of his friends, because he did not have many.

He had put his hand on her knee, and her body tensed. Her look flew to his hand, and he felt pressured to move his hand away.

"Why don't you go to bed? You have time for a nice, long nap before dinner" - he said as he started moving towards his bedroom.

She wanted to apologize to him. She was such a fool to react to his touch like that. But it was her body's defense mechanism that came naturally whenever someone touched her. She was not yet ready for that.

Maybe she never will be.

**xxxx**

Stefan was lying on the couch with a beer in his hand, watching a football game he wasn't even interested in, but it made him feel relaxed. When he came home, he found a note from Elena saying she's out shopping with Caroline. He should have guessed Caroline will take Elena shopping sooner or later. He did not mind having Elena in the apartment, he got quite used to it, but he was glad to have some alone time. Also, he was happy Elena is getting along with Caroline pretty well. He was even worried he will lose his best friend now when she had found someone with more similar interests to hers.

Just as he got comfortable, there was a knock on the door. He sighed, lifelessly got himself from the couch, and went to open the front door.

"Damon" - he gasped, as he saw his brother standing in the hallway.

"Stefan" - Damon said with a serious tone of voice, but with a smirk on his face - "We were nearby, so we decided to drop by."

Damon explained, but before Stefan had a chance to say anything, two little hands were wrapping around his leg.

"Uncle Stefan!" - the voice from below shouted happily.

Stefan smiled as he bent down to pick up his little niece who was wrapping her arms around his leg. As he did so, she had put her hands around his neck, and he carried her inside.

"Hey, Rose" - he kissed the left side of her temple. Damon decided to name his daughter after their mother, a mother Stefan has never met, and a mother Damon missed. Stefan loved his niece, and he used to spend a lot more time with her when she was younger, before Damon moved them in the family friendlier environment at the edge of the town.

"We went to the movies" - Rose said when she had let Stefan go out from her hug - "And daddy bought me large sized popcorn" - she giggled as she glanced over at Damon.

Stefan removed her black, thick hair she had inherited from her mother, out of her face, as he tried to capture the excitement in her voice.

"Were you able to eat them all?" - Stefan smiled at her.

She nodded and put her hands on the top of her stomach. "Yes. But my tummy is so puffed now. I think popcorns are stuck" - she poked her stomach with her finger over her shirt.

Stefan had to laugh at her adorableness. He kissed her cheek one more time and put her back down on the floor. He crouched so he could look her in the eyes.

"Caroline brought you a present from Europe. It's in my bedroom, on the dresser. Why don't you see what it is?" - he winked at her.

Her eyes grew wide, and a smirk appeared on her face, something she inherited from her father. She released a silent scream of excitement before ruining off in the direction of his bedroom. Caroline would always buy Rose something on her trips. Partly because she loved Rose, partly because she loved shopping, so she took every opportunity she had to do so.

"Bonnie, you look lovely, as always" - he said as he walked over to Bonnie and kissed her on the cheek.

Damon and Bonnie started dating when Bonnie was a freshman in High School, and Damon was one in college. There's quite an age gap between them, but no one seemed to mind, since from the moment he had seen her, he knew she's the one he's going to end up marrying. He came home for summer breaks, and noticed Bonnie working as a life guard at the pool. When Bonnie was a senior, she found out that she's pregnant, and Damon married her. Just like Stefan, Damon always planned a different life for himself. He never regretted marrying Bonnie, or having Rose, but he always thought a wife, kids, and a white picket fence will come a little bit later than they did.

"Well, thank you" - she smiled and put her hands on her hips - "Stefan?" - she furrowed her brows as she said his name.

"Yeah?" - he opened a bottle of beer and handed it over to his brother.

"Why does your apartment smell like a vanilla shampoo?" - she asked, sniffing the air in the room.

Stefan went pale. Elena. He completely forgot about Elena. And about the fact he hadn't told anyone about her yet.

"Uncle Stefan, is someone living with you?" - he heard Rose's voice from the hall. He turned his head around and saw her peeping through the half opened door of Elena's bedroom. She wiggled her lips, but when she remembered what she really wanted to say, she forgot everything about the possibility of someone else living in the apartment. "Mommy, look at the dress Caroline got me!" - she held the dress up for everyone to see.

"That looks lovely, sweetie" - Bonnie said as she glanced over at Damon who was glaring at Stefan - "Why don't you put it on?"

"Okay" - Rose said and ran away in Stefan's bedroom happily.

"What is going on Stefan?" - Damon asked, furry evident in his voice.

"We have to talk" - Stefan answered more calmly. "Look, there is no easy way to say this, or to explain it really, but.. I got someone pregnant" - as soon as he heard the words coming out from his mouth, he was disgusted with himself. That someone had a name.

"What?" - Damon hissed, anger flashing in his eyes.

"What do you want me to say Damon? It happened" - Stefan raised his voice, but not as much as Damon did. He was not even trying to justify himself. He felt no need to. He accepted the situation and did not even think about what could have happened differently.

"Are you going to marry her?" - Damon asked, inhaling deeply, and loudly.

"No" - Stefan shook his head and crossed his arms on his chest.

"Then why is she living here with you?" - Damon yelled.

"Why do I have to explain myself to you?" - Stefan snapped at him.

"When will we meet her?" - Bonnie finally said something. She decided to intervene when she realized things are about to get rough between the two of them. Damon and Stefan used to be close, especially as kids, but that changed after the death of their father. Both Damon and Stefan looked at her at the same time. "Even if you're not going to marry her, she's the mother of your child, and therefor she will be a part of your life from now on. And she will have your niece" - she glared at Damon - "Which means she's family. So can we meet her?" - she transferred her look back to Stefan.

Stefan looked away from Bonnie, back to his brother. "Will you behave?" - he asked.

Damon frowned. "Yes, I'll behave" - he mimicked Stefan's voice, mocking him.

"Fine. Dinner, this Saturday, my place."

**xxxx**

**Uhoh, will Damon really behave? How will he like Elena? How will all of them like Elena?**


	9. Part Of Your World

"So, how is Stefan's brother?" - Elena asked as she took another spoon of her vanilla ice cream mixed with smarties, chocolate syrup and caramel. She wanted to add some pickles in there too, but Caroline stopped her on time. Her eating habits had gotten strange, especially in these past few weeks. The other day she had a peanut butter sandwich.. with ketchup. Stefan looked at her with utter shock, so when she snapped at him, yelling "What?", he simply laughed, shook his head and said "Nothing". She knew once she has this baby and remembers what she had eaten during her pregnancy, she will regret it, and probably never come close to that kind of food, ever again.

"He's okay. I used to have a huge crush on him when I was a kid, while he was going through his bad boy phase. He found out about it and teased me mercilessly" - Caroline started talking really fast, but by now, Elena has gotten used to it. Since Caroline came back from Europe, she's been at their apartment every day, keeping Elena company when Stefan wasn't there, trying to get to know her better, although Stefan warned here there are some limits she should not cross, and that if Elena wants to tell her secrets to her, she will, with time, like she did with Lexi. She hasn't told anything to Stefan yet, though. Stefan knew his friend needed warning, because when it came to some things, she had no control over her own tongue. "But that's beside the point" - she said when she noticed Elena looking at her confused. "Both Damon and Stefan have very traditional beliefs. Damon married and became a father early in his life, and I think he doesn't want the same for Stefan. Although Stefan is already older than Damon was when he became a father" - Caroline shrugged while going through Elena's collection of nail polishes. Finally she chose dark pink one, opened the bottle and started applying it on her nails.

"He's unhappy with his life?" - she asked as she scraped the last remains of ice cream on the bottom of the bowl.

Caroline smiled and shook her head. "No, he loves his wife, and his daughter, and he would not change either of them for anything in the world. He always wanted to marry her and have children with her, be he wanted to do some things before that, because now he's not able to. Him and Stefan are more similar than they know, and Damon doesn't want Stefan to miss out on everything like he did" - Caroline explained while pulling the brush of the nail polish gently over the nail of her index finger.

Elena nodded in understanding. She could see Damon's point of view, and after everything Caroline told her, she did not expect Damon being pleasant to her this evening. She was the woman who destroyed his brother's life.

"So" - Caroline started happily while transferring her look from her nails to Elena's baby bump - "Do you think it's a boy, or a girl?" - she pulled a wide smile over her face.

Elena looked down at her baby bump that was popping out under her thin, black shirt. She had put her hand on the top of it and smiled.

"I think it's too early to tell" - she looked back at Caroline who went back to painting her nails.

"I think Stefan would like a daughter" - she said while nodding her head.

"He would?" - Elena asked in surprise. She thought all of the men would rather want their children to be males, at least the first one. Although her mother used to tell her stories how when she was pregnant with her, her dad would put his head on her stomach and call the baby by her name even before they found out the sex of the baby. But she thought that's something mothers say to their daughters when they come into their teens and stop being daddy's little princesses.

Caroline raised her head up and wiggled her lips. "He doesn't talk to you much about the baby, does he?" - she asked, although to Elena it seemed she already knows the answer.

Elena shook her head. "No. He often asks how I'm feeling or do I need something. He asked me the same question as you did, and how would I like to name the baby, but he never says what he wants. I know he doesn't want this, he was forced into it" - she had put both of her hands on her baby bump, like she's trying to protect it from her own words.

Caroline sighed loudly and closed the bottle, putting it back in its place. "Not so long ago, Stefan was hurt deeply by someone he loved. Not one person, but two of them. He lost those people forever, and the worst thing is, he never got a closure" - she started blowing at her nails - "You have to know, what Stefan did with you, he has never done that before. He never slept with someone he wasn't in a relationship with" - Caroline furrowed her brows, bringing them closer together.

"Well, it sure backfired on him" - Elena said with a painful smile across her face.

Caroline shook her head, realizing she had chosen the wrongs words, again. She sat closer to Elena and put a hand on her knee. "I know you don't know Stefan for very long or very well, but he has a big heart. He always did, and always will. And he's not like the rest of them" - Elena remembered Lexi said the same words to her about Stefan. "You can't tell me you haven't noticed that by now. You can't tell me you haven't noticed how kind he is, or generous, and you can't tell me he doesn't make you laugh because I've witnessed it with my own two eyes" - Caroline squeezed Elena's knee with her hand.

Elena smiled while looking Caroline directly in the eyes. "He does" - she even blushed a little.

A smirk appeared on Caroline's face, but it took her only a moment to become completely serious. "I hope I'm not overstepping my boundaries here" - she frowned, remembering Stefan's warnings - "But you never talk about your life back at L.A. Don't you have anyone worth remembering there. Family? Friends?" - Caroline swallowed, afraid the question will make Elena angry.

But it did not make her angry. The only thing Caroline could see in her eyes was fear mixed with sadness. Elena lowered her head. "My parents are dead" - she said - "And my friends aren't even worth mentioning. They stopped being my friends long time ago."

"Why?" - Caroline was curious now.

Elena was aware she will have to tell them, all of them, the truth one day. Especially if she's planning to stay friends with them. But she did not think it will be this soon. She did not think everyone will be so nice to here after she found herself in this situation. She did not think she will start caring about all of them so soon, or ever.

"Because of my ex boyfriend" - Elena raised her head to look at Caroline, who had an expectant look in her eyes - "He was not a very good man. Unfortunately, I realized that when it was too late. I told my friends, but they did not believe me, he had them all fooled" - tears started grouping in Elena's eyes. "He is the reason I moved here. I had to run away from him" - she threw her hands in the air out of desperation.

Caroline swallowed, her heart breaking into pieces for Elena. Her heartbreak, not matter how often it happened, was nothing in comparison what Elena went through. He obviously abused her, emotionally or physically, Caroline did not know, and she did not care. Abuse is abuse, you can't define the intensity of it only because it's a certain type. She was afraid of asking Elena any more questions, she did not want to upset her.

"Is he the reason you're afraid of getting closer to Stefan?" - Caroline asked while putting her arm around Elena's shoulders.

Elena cleared her eyes of tears with her finger and nodded. "He's the reason why I'm afraid of getting closer to anyone" - that sentence only seemed to induce more tears.

Caroline took her in a hug, and Elena lowered her head in Caroline's lap.

"You're going to be okay. You're safe now" - Caroline said as she thought about the irony of her meeting Stefan, who was as damaged and hurt as she was. Maybe his situation was less serious, but that did not mean it had hurt less. Someone else tore them apart, so maybe they can help each other heal.

**xxxx**

Damon was surprisingly nice, which wasn't expected by neither Stefan or Elena. Even though that was Stefan's ultimatum for meeting Elena, Damon behaving, Stefan never thought he's actually going to stick by it. And Elena didn't think Damon is going to be nice to the woman who destroyed his brother's life. Bonnie probably had a talk with him before they came over.

Damon asked Elena only few questions, like where did she go to college, does she miss her life in L.A, how come she moved here, how did she find a job here, things like that. Damon had his tantrums, and he often got angry and displeased, and was not afraid to express his concerns, but he was also a very traditional man, who knew his limits, and had a certain beliefs. He only kept staring at her, motioning her every move.

On the other hand, Bonnie was talkative. She wanted to know everything about Elena, about how her and Stefan met, about the baby, about her life before she moved to Mystic Falls. She seemed to like Elena, too, on which Stefan was thankful. Which was more important, Elena seemed to love Rose, and the other way around. Rose kept asking can she touch Elena's belly, to which Elena would always smile and nod.

Elena was very nervous for meeting Stefan's family. She locked herself in her room after they came back from work, and when Stefan knocked on her door to check if she's okay, he noticed her whole wardrobe was laid out on her bed. She was freaking out about what to wear, saying all of the clothes she has does not fit her anymore. So Stefan helped her pick out a dress she looked the best in.

"I am confused" - Rose said as Stefan had put the dessert on the table. "You and uncle Stefan are not married" - she said that sentence more as a statement than as a question.

"No" - Elena blushed as she replied, locking her eyes on Rose's, which were curious and expectant for answers she was looking for.

"How did the baby end up in your tummy then?" - Rose wiggled her nose.

Elena raised her look from her to Stefan, who was standing behind his niece, trying to put a piece of cheesecake in front of her, with an astonished look on his face. Elena tried to look at Damon or Bonnie, to ask for help, but she could not detach her look from Stefan, and he seemed to have a problem to detach his look from her face too.

"Babies can end up in tummies even if the mommy is not married to daddy" - Stefan finally said as he had put a plate in front of Rose.

Rose's lips parted in shock. She kept looking from Stefan to Elena, confused. Rose was beautiful, with her father's baby blue eyes and her mother's thick, black hair. She had the same smirk as her father, which added a mean streak to her face, but the lines of her face were gentle, and her eyes were so sweet, you could see she's good at heart, which she inherited from both of her parents.

Rose finally locked her look on Elena's face. "Do you love uncle Stefan like my mommy loves my daddy?" - Rose furrowed her brows.

Elena gasped. She was uncomfortable answering these questions, but she had no idea how to make a curious child stop asking them. What was more uncomfortable was the silence in the room.

"No" - Elena shook her head and smiled at Rose.

Rose frowned. "Then why did you decide to make a baby?" - she was obviously confused.

"We did not decide to have the baby. It happened" - Stefan decided to intertwine.

"It was an accident?" - Rose said shocked, her eyes widening as she lowered her look on Elena's belly.

There was something stuck in Elena's throat. But she wanted to answer that question, because she knew one day she will have to explain it to her own child.

"Yes. But accidents don't have to be always bad. Sometimes things happen, and you realize you wanted them to happen all along, even though to an outsider they can seem like the worst thing in the world" - Elena smiled at Rose, who's face muscles relaxed - "Accidents don't always break things, sometimes they fix them" - she said, referring to herself. "And I promise you we're going to love this baby as much as your parents love you" - she had put her hand on the top of her bump and smiled widely at Rose.

"We already do" - Stefan said, which made Elena look at him on shock. He did not notice her look on him, because he kept looking at Rose with a smile on his face. But Damon did, and Elena exchanged an awkward stare with him before looking at her plate.

She was shocked because this was the first time she heard Stefan talking about the baby like it's something he's looking forward to.

"Elena?" - Rose said her name through a whisper.

"Yes?" - Elena looked at her and smiled warmly.

"I really wish you could love uncle Stefan like my mommy loves my daddy, the last lady he was with had hurt him bad" - Rose said with a sad tone of voice while her big, blue eyes widened with every word that came out of her mouth.

"Rose" - this made Damon intertwine - "Eat your cake" - he said as his daughter looked at him.

**xxxx**

After they left, Elena changed into something more comfortable, lazily laid herself on the couch, and Stefan brought her a cup of tea. He made himself one too, and sat on the couch next to her.

"Your family is nice" - Elena said as the silence in the room became awkward. The only thing she could hear were both of them sipping their tea, very loudly.

"Thank you" - he replied with a smile on his face, but he did not look at her - "I wish I was able to see them more often, though" - even though he wasn't looking at her, she could see a sad look in his eyes.

"You and your brother are not close?" - she asked in surprise. She had noticed him and Damon barely talked, but she thought it's because of their current situation.

Stefan kept staring at one point in the wall as he shook his head. "Not anymore. Not since our father died" - he cleared his throat with a cough.

Elena could identify with that. After the death of her parents, her relationship with her brother was never the same, until they finally fell out of touch.

"Do you mind me asking how your father died?" - she took another sip of her tea while looking at him.

Stefan turned his head around and looked her in the eyes. "He committed suicide" - he said coldly, without any emotion in his voice.

Elena's face went pale. She felt guilty for asking him that question. "I'm so sorry" - she said with a trembling voice.

"It's okay" - Stefan said, his voice becoming warmer, as well as the color of his face. "He wasn't happy, not since my mother died. She died giving birth to me, so I never had a chance to meet her" - Stefan said with a hard voice, and Elena could tell there's something in his throat, choking him - "I always had a feeling he blamed me for her death, even though he never said anything. Damon told me he wasn't always that.. sad. And him being sad and serious is the only father I ever knew. He took his own life few days after I turned 18" - he explained while looking her right in the eyes.

She thought she's going to tear up. She was hormonal, and his story did her no good. She thought his sadness is connected to the loss of his ex, but that was only the cherry on the top. She was probably what was keeping him together, and with losing her, everything fell apart. There were many reasons for Stefan Salvatore to be broken.

"My parents died too. Few years back, in a plane crash" - she squeezed the cup in her hands as she looked him directly in the eyes.

"I'm sorry" - Stefan gulped - "I guess our child can cross grandparents from the list" - a painful smile appeared on Stefan's face as he tore his look away from Elena.

Elena forced herself to smile too. "Did you mean what you said today?" - she furrowed her brows while watching him as he took one last sip of tea - "That you already love our baby?"

He turned his head around and glared at her like he's offended. "Of course I did" - he said, but there was no emotion on his face.

"Would you like to.. feel it?" - she blushed as she pronounced those words.

He was confused and surprised at the same time. He looked a little bit scared too. He looked down at her bump, and the color washed over his face. There was a smile in the corners of his lips.

"I'd love to" - he said, staring at her bump.

She lowered her hands down and slowly pulled her shirt up. On her petite body her three months old baby bump looked bigger than it actually was. He sat closer to her, slowly lifting his hands from the couch, and putting them on her stomach. At first, she could only feel the tension of his lingering fingers, but then he lowered the full weight of his hands on her stomach, and she could feel his well known touch on her skin.

He smiled as he carefully placed his hands on her stomach. Her skin was so soft, he thought. He loved the baby. He loved it from the moment she told him she's pregnant. But at this moment, he had a feeling like he knows it, and he wondered how must it be for her, with the baby growing inside of her body.

She remembered the way he touched her one and only time they made love. No one ever touched her like that before. No one made her remember their fingertips on her skin. No one made her skin burn in such high intensity.

"I have another ultrasound next week. I know you were disappointed you weren't there for the previous one, so I thought maybe you can come for this one" - she said while staring at his hands on her stomach. He was really mad at her for not inviting him to the previous ultrasound, but taking Lexi instead. He told her a father should be there for these things. She simply didn't think he really wants to be there.

He raised his look from her bump. "Of course I'll be there" - he said with a smile on his face before looking back at his child.


	10. Two Is Better Than One

Elena was sitting by the kitchen counter, going through some fashion magazine Caroline left the last time she was over, which was yesterday evening. She turned on the coffee making machine, and soon enough, the smell of coffee had spread out through the whole room. As it turns out, Stefan was not much better at using the coffee machine than Caroline was, so Elena told him to stick in the part of the kitchen he knows like the palm of his hand, which was the stove, and she will be in charge of the coffee. Stefan gladly accepted that idea.

"I'm back" - she heard Stefan's voice behind her back, as he had left the front door close behind loudly. By now, she would recognize Stefan's voice anywhere, especially if it followed the words "I'm back" or "I'm home" or "Do you need anything?", and especially "Are you comfortable?".

This morning, Elena woke up with strong cravings for donuts. She dragged herself into the kitchen, where she found him sitting by the kitchen counter and reading this morning papers. He greeted her happily, but her hormones surfaced on her face, and she directed an unhappy look into his direction. She swung the top kitchen cabinet open, asking do they have any leftover donuts, and when he answered no, she growled silently and told him she's going to take a shower. By the time she came out of the bathroom, back in the kitchen she found a note from Stefan saying he went out to grab some donuts. A wide smile appeared on her face, and she did not know is it because she will have some donuts after all, or because he was so incredibly sweet to her.

Because he really was. Since the day she met his family, his attitude towards her changed slightly. She did not know was it because she had finally met all of the people he cared about, or because at the end of the evening he finally laid her hands on her baby bump and made his first contact with their unborn child. He became more open, he shared stories with her, and she had to admit, he made her laugh like no one ever did before, except her brother when they were younger. She felt comfortable around him, and she often wondered does he feel the same.

"Double stuffed chocolate donuts with sprinkles and extra sugar on the top" - he said as he had put the pink box on the counter in front of her, and opened it - "Just the way you like" - he winked at her.

Those really were her favorite kind of a donuts, and she wasn't surprised he remembered it, since she bought them, ate them, and mentioned the for million of times since she moved in with him.

She took one of the donuts from the box in her hands and took the first bite, hot chocolate filling running down her throat, sprinkles getting stuck in between her teeth, and sugar getting into her nostrils as she inhaled. She probably looked like a pig, but she did not care, not even a bit. Cravings were bigger than her shame was.

"Thank you" - she said as she swallowed the first bite of the donut she took.

Stefan laughed out loud as he watched her eat a donut in so much pleasure.

"Everything for you" - he said.

She froze as she was about to have her second bite and raised her look at him. He looked like she mentally slapped him across the face, and in a way she did, because she was fully aware of the confusion and fear in her eyes.

"For the baby, I mean" - he cleared his throat as he corrected himself, trying to look anywhere but directly at her.

Elena decided she will let his words slide this time, although she was not able to ignore the beating of her own heart or the confusion in her mind as he said those words.

"Yeah, the baby really wanted some donuts" - she smiled at him before taking another bite.

When she finished her first donut, and she was planning to have more, since she was eating for two now after all, she got up from the chair to make Stefan coffee. She opened the see through kitchen cabinet and reached for a cup, but as her fingers were greasy from the warm donut dough, the cup slipped out of her hand and fell on the floor, shattering in front of her feet.

When he heard the crash, he turned around in a hurry, afraid something has happened to her, that somehow she had hurt herself. She was unharmed. There were pieces of porcelain in front of her feet, but she had a frightened look on her face. She became pale, and she froze in the moment. She slowly raised her look at him, and her eyes widened in fear, and he could swear there were tears in her eyes. It was just a cup, and there was a couple of same looking cups in the cabinet.

"I'm so sorry" - she said with a trembling voice, unable to move. He wanted to help her move away from the broken cup beneath her feet, but when he took a step closer to her, she flinched, like he's going to harm her.

"It's okay" - he said calmly, with a warm voice, but that did not seem to do any good to her, or to the scared look on her face. She looked like she has done something unforgivable, and like he's going to punish her in the worst way she could imagine. And he wondered why would she think that, he was nothing but kind to her. He never even raised his voice while talking to her. And still, she looked like he's her biggest enemy.

"No, it's not okay" - she bent down to pick up the broken cup - "I'm such a clumsy, unworthy - "

"Elena" - he interrupted her in the middle of her sentence with a warning voice, saying her name like a mother would say her child's name after they said a swear.

"Idiot" - she ended her sentence before looking up at him.

For a moment there, she could see his face in Stefan's. In the moment she broke the cup, she went back in the past, watching the fury in his eyes, and hearing his words, words that described her in the worst way possible. He yelled so hard that her body trembled under the pressure of his voice, and she had a feeling like his words tightened around her body and shook her until she fell on the ground. She could feel pieces of broken porcelain plunging into her knees and the palm of her hands, and when she raised her hands up to look at them, they were all bloody, with pieces of broken cup sticking out of her palms.

But Stefan did not scream. He did not insult her. His voice was warm, and kind, and supporting, and it scared her nightmare away.

He bent down next to her and took her hands in his before she had put them on the ground and hurt herself. He looked at her hands in his, and to him it seemed they fit there perfectly. Her hands were a lot smaller than his, but where the lines in her palms ended, lines in his began, and it seemed like together they made a long lifeline.

"You will hurt yourself" - he said with a caring voice, still looking at her hands in his. "And you're not any of those things, especially not unworthy idiot. These things happen to everyone" - he twirled her hands in his before raising his head to look at her, only to find her eyes locked on his face already.

"Well, I'm a little clumsy" - she smiled at him, not knowing how to react to the situation she found herself in. But she knew she doesn't want to pull her hands away from his, because her palms felt practically non existent in his. She felt so.. light.

"Part of your charm" - the corners of his lips curved into a smile before, to her disappointment, he had let go off her hands - "Why don't you go get dressed, and I will take care of this" - he asked her with a pleading look in his eyes.

She gladly accepted his offer. As he watched her leave, he couldn't help himself but wonder what induced that kind of reaction in her. Who had put the fear in her eyes, and who made her body tremble. And the only thing he wanted to do was to protect her.

**xxxx**

"How are things between you and the mamma?" - Caroline asked while taking a sip of her Cosmopolitan, although it was barely noon. She said she's still on the European time, although it's been two weeks since she came back.

"Caroline" - Stefan used his warning voice, eyeing her.

"What?" - she asked, faking her surprise, pretending there's no double meaning behind her question - "I asked you a simple question" - a mischievous smirk appeared on her face.

A smirk Stefan knew all too well.

"Stop pushing it. It's not going to happen" - he took a sip of coffee that all of a sudden tasted too sweet, although he was drinking coffee here for years. It tasted.. not like Elena's coffee.

"And why not?" - Caroline whined like a little child who's mother just told her she's not getting a new toy. Her blonde curls bounced on her shoulders as her face got red.

Stefan had to smile at the sight in front of him, at his grown up friend behaving like a seven year old. He shook his head, refusing to answer her question.

The truth was.. he didn't have an answer to her question.

Caroline finally gave up, redness disappearing from her face. She took another sip of her drink. "Well, I think it will" - she was pretty sure in her words. She could smell when two people were right for each other. Her love senses were tingling. Unfortunately, not when it came to her own love life. Maybe she was a Cupid in the previous life.

"Something weird happened the other morning" - he disregarded her statement to concern his own worries.

"Oh?" - she leaned forward, asking with a half worried, half curious voice.

He nodded, but he looked like he's not quite there with her, like he went back couple mornings ago, watching the scene between them as an innocent bystander, trying to decipher it.

"She accidentally broke a cup. And after she did so, she looked at me with so much fear in her eyes, like I'm going to beat a living crap out of her. She was so scared.." - he said as he remembered Elena's face that morning.

Caroline parted her lips a little in surprise when she realized Elena hasn't told Stefan about how her ex treated her, and that he is the reason why she moved here in the first place. In that moment Stefan snapped out of his thoughts and caught a vary look on her face.

"Do you know something?" - Stefan cocked his eyebrow at her.

"No" - Caroline shook her head in determination.

"Miss Forbes, both you and me know you're incapable of keeping a secret. You get that weird rash on your back and your cheeks swell like you have two tomatoes in your mouth."

Caroline frowned, partly because what he was saying offended her, partly because it was true, and crossed her arms on her chest. "When Elena's ready to tell you, she will tell you" - she glared at Stefan before bringing her eyebrows closer together - "But how did you handle the situation?" - she asked curiously.

"I tried to calm her down, of course. I bent down beside her, and took her hands in mine - "

"Woah" - she exclaimed, interrupting him in the middle of his sentence - "Back down, Romeo! You took her hands in yours?" - she asked with a grin on her face.

"Like I said, I was trying to calm her down" - he explained calmly, taken back by his friends sudden reaction.

But Caroline didn't seem to believe him. She didn't even seem to hear him.

"Say whatever you want, Salvatore, but both you and me know you're falling for this girl."

**xxxx**

Elena was laying on the examining table, looking at all of the pictures on the wall. About babies, about childbirth, about how having a child affects a woman physically and emotionally. She was interested in everything, she wanted to know everything there is to know because she wanted to do this one thing right, but in the same time everything she had read and seen scared her. She wanted to ask Stefan to watch a tape of childbirth with her, but she gave the thought up quickly, because she wondered will watching that tape do more damage to him or to her.

Stefan was sitting in a chair next to where she was laying, and patiently waiting for the doctor to come in.

Finally, a woman in her mid thirties came into the room. She had a coal black hair, and to Stefan it seemed that the color of her hair matched the color of her eyes. She was wearing a white doctor coat with a name tag pinned to it, but he couldn't see her name clearly from the distance.

She smiled at Elena, who she knew from their previous appointments.

"And this must be the dad" - she greeted Stefan politely and stretched her hand out.

Stefan smiled and nodded before taking her hand and shaking it.

She took the white tube in her hands and smeared the translucent gel all over Elena's bump. He noticed goosebumps on the bare skin of her arms, she shivered in coldness. The doctor sat on the chair next to Elena and turned on the little white monitor. She took something that to Stefan looked like a remote control, and pressed it next to Elena's stomach. She started moving it around.

"So, do you want to know the sex of the baby?" - the doctor asked, carefully looking at the screen.

Stefan and Elena looked at each other. They did not discuss this, do they want to know the sex of the child before it was born. After some time, Stefan nodded at her, and she smiled at him. She wanted to know the sex of the baby too.

"Yes" - Elena finally responded, but the doctor didn't seem to hear her. She was looking at the screen, frowning.

Elena's blood became cold in her veins. So many thoughts went through her mind in so little time, and she had a feeling her head is going to explode. Then, she felt Stefan's hand on hers. She turned her head, aware there were tears in her eyes, and by the look of things, he was perfectly calm. But Elena knew better. He was squeezing her hand too hard for him to be okay. He was holding on to her as much as she was holding on to him.

"Is there something wrong?" - he asked with a shivering voice.

"No, nothing's wrong" - the doctor said with a warm voice, disregarding all of their worries, and Stefan's tight on Elena's hand lessened, although she wish it hadn't - "But I can hear two heartbeats" - the doctor turned herself around on the small spinning stool.

Stefan's eyes widened, because as soon as she pronounced those words, he knew what was going on. But Elena seemed oblivious to what was going on, because there still was a scared look on her face.

"What does that mean? The baby has two hearts?" - she asked with a trembling voice.

Stefan cocked his eyebrow at her and almost laughed out loud, but instead of doing so, he squeezed her hand with his again. But the doctor did chuckle a little. "No" - she shook her head - "You're having twins. And both of them are girls."

**xxxx**

**A/N: It seems that Stefan and Elena are building up their relationship without even being aware of it. But remember, a relationship should not be built on lies, or it will crumble because of lies. **


	11. Heartless

"So, your kids are going to be like Olsen twins?" - Caroline asked with her eyes wide open, popping out of her skull from the excitement.

Both Stefan and Elena were shocked by the news they're having twins. At first, Elena was full of fear that something is wrong with the baby, that somehow she messed up her child even before it was born, so the fact she will be having not one, but two babies, did not seem that big to her. Her relief ate her surprise and her worry. She realized what's going on when they sat in the car to drive back home. "Wait" - she said, like something finally clicked in her mind - "we are having twins" - she stated as he stopped on the red light - "Like, two babies?" - there was a small amount of panic in her voice. Stefan turned his head around in surprise and looked at her confused, before pulling a smile across his face and nodding at her. "Oh" - was her reaction, and both of them kept silent for the rest of the drive home.

Couples usually discuss these things. They discuss the possibility of twins, illness, number of children they want, and which gender would they prefer. Most of the couples are ready for these things, but the two of them were caught off guard. They knew absolutely nothing about each other, and Stefan realized that as two professional members of medical staff, it was completely irresponsible of them not to have that conversation earlier. And they could not afford anymore irresponsibilities.

So as soon as they entered the apartment, both of them agreed they should talk. They went through all of the family illnesses the child could inherit, which luckily, there were none, and as it turned out, there were twins in both of their family lines.

"How stupid am I? I thought you look larger because of your tiny figure" - Lexi said while putting a hand over her mouth.

The day after, they summoned Caroline, Lexi, Bonnie and Damon to give them the news. Bonnie and Damon were as surprised as Stefan and Elena were. They looked at each other, but haven't said a word. Lexi was also surprised, but she found some words to say. And then there was Caroline, who was excited, and who had plenty to say.

"I have so many ideas for my baby fashion line now" - Caroline exclaimed and clapped with the palms of her hands.

Stefan was about to tell her something, but she was no longer listening. She was squinting, like strong light was bugging her eyes, and she was buried deep inside of her thoughts. After some time she opened a small sketchpad she always carried with herself inside of her purse and started drawing something with her tongue stuck out a little. She would always stuck a tip of her tongue a little when she was concentrating.

"Well, congratulations" - Damon said as he stood on his feet - "Double blessing" - he smiled while looking at Elena.

Even though they did not know each other that well, Damon and Elena had a weird relationship. There was a lot of silence between them, but also, there was a lot of understanding. Caroline told Elena that Damon probably admires her, and that is why he's so silent all the time, because he can't deny it, but there's also no way in hell he would tell her the truth. So he kept his mouth shut, and secretly hoped she knows what he thinks of her. That her actions make her brave, and strong.

Bonnie knew there's more behind Damon's thoughts, because he did not have to tell her what's on his mind for her to know what he's thinking. She knew Damon accepted Elena from the moment he laid his eyes on her because there was something in her that made his brother smile brighter than he usually smiled. Something other than his child. His children.

Because Bonnie could see that too, and she wished for Stefan to be happy, more than anything, especially because of his past relationship experiences.

"I promised Rose we'll go for ice cream" - Damon said as his daughter's eyes widened at the mention of ice cream - "Stefan, care to join us?" - his eyes fell on his brother.

Stefan looked up at him and nodded. "Sure" - he said as he stood up. He thought it would be a good idea to give the girls some alone time, he was sure they have lots to talk about.

"So, you're staying with Stefan longer than you have planned" - Lexi waited for them to leave the apartment before she made her statement.

Elena, who was staring at the sketch Caroline was working on, looked up with a surprised look on her face. "What?" - she asked silently, confused.

"Elena, you can't raise two babies by yourself" - Lexi raised her voice a little.

"There is a more important question" - Caroline said through her teeth while biting the top of the pencil - "When are you going to move from your bedroom to Stefan's bedroom?" - she grinned at Elena after raising her head up to look at her.

Elena hurriedly moved her look from Lexi to Caroline. "It's not going to happen" - Elena rolled her eyes.

Caroline sighed out of frustration. "So both of you keep saying. But I do not buy it. Wanna know why?" - she leaned closer to Elena, asking a question to which she really did not expect an answer - "Because not once did I hear either of you saying you don't want it to happen. You keep saying it's not going to happen because you think the other one doesn't want it to happen" - she kept staring at Elena's blank and pale face - "Now, can you honestly tell me you did not think about being with him, not even once?" - Caroline asked, and her question made Elena's eyes widen.

Few moments passed, and Elena did not give Caroline her answer. Her silence was an answer good enough for Caroline, so she leaned back in her chair with a satisfactory smile on her face, enjoying her victory.

Elena could not say she never thought about being with Stefan, because that would be a lie. She thought about it a lot, and recently, those thoughts only increased. She could not tell why, though. Was it because she was carrying his children? Or was it because she had so much respect and admiration for him, for taking her in and acting like an responsible adult, because not many guys would have done that. And maybe, it was because he could make her laugh when laughing was the last thing she wanted to do. Because he teased her like a little brother, listened to her like a best friend, and looked at her like a man. Because with him, she felt safe, and protected, and.. happy. She was happy, and it was only now that she realized it. She had forgotten how happiness feels, so she failed to recognize it, when it slowly and quietly sneaked back into her life again. Stefan made her happy, and that was all there it is to it.

"Well, did you?" - Bonnie finally asked to break the awkward silence.

Elena could feel blush coming to her cheeks, which was an answer for all three of them.

"Of course she did. Have you met Stefan?" - Caroline winked at her before taking a sketchpad back into her hand and frowning at the picture in front of her.

"The question is, what are you going to do about it?" - Lexi asked with a bit of excitement in her voice.

Elena knew her cheeks were blood red from blushing, so she lowered her head down. "Nothing. He feels nothing for me, so this is a box we should better leave closed."

Lexi shook her head. "You do not know him" - she furrowed her brows.

"But we do" - Bonnie continued.

"He feels more than you might think. He simply doesn't want to get burned again" - Caroline finished before adding last touches to her drawing.

**xxxx**

He heard footsteps behind him. She was walking slowly and carefully towards him, and he wished she didn't walk in his direction because there were too many thoughts inside of his head.

The conversation he had with Damon the other day left him confused, and distant from the rest of the world. He did not know did Damon want to confuse him or to help him, and at this point it really did not matter. Because when Damon asked him does he have feelings for Elena, he did not have an answer to his question, and he did not have it now.

Now, he was sure if she knocked on his door and begged him to take her back, he wouldn't. He did not hate her or resented her anymore, but he did not love her either. He tried to keep every good memory of her, and to remember her like that, only so he doesn't have to torture himself with how ugly things turned out with her, especially because once he had loved her so much. He also remembered the time when he swore to himself he would never love again. When he thought he would never laugh again, like he laughed with her, and then Elena came along, and made him laugh harder than he ever did before. And he wondered could any other woman do that, or was there something about her that made him stand on his feet and live his life like he wasn't so broken not so long ago. Was it her, or was it their situation? Or was it all him? Or maybe everything above, mixed in one. Maybe it was him, her and this situation all together.

"Stefan?" - he heard her saying his name through a whisper.

"Yeah?" - he said as he turned around to face her.

"I found this in the bottom drawer of my dresser" - she stretched her hand out and he took the item from her hands.

It was a framed picture. When he gave it a better look, the color from his face disappeared. It was a picture of him, and her, and he thought he threw out all of the things that reminded him of her. He swallowed, hard.

Elena sat on the couch next to him. "Do you want to tell me what happened with her?" - she asked silently.

He raised his head up to look at her. There was curiosity and fear in her eyes. And as much as he did not want to talk about it, he wanted to tell her. He felt like something is pushing him to tell her.

He looked at the picture once again before putting it on the coffee table and looking back at Elena. "Her name is Katherine" - he started talking, but now, when he said her name, he did not feel like someone is choking him - "We were together for three years. She was not only my girlfriend, she was my fiance. I thought she's the love of my life, and that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with her. I was never so happy before, and I never loved another girl like I loved her. We were happy, and in love.. well, at least I thought so" - a painful smile appeared on his face while he kept looking her in the eyes. "One day I came back from work, and she was gone. She left a note behind her, telling me how sorry she is, how sorry they are. At first, I was confused, so I had to read the note few times in a row. She cheated on me, and not with anyone, with one of my best friends. Me and Elijah were studying together. I took an internship here because it was my home, and Elijah did because he did not have any other choice since he wasn't much of a student, and he wasn't much of a doctor. Turns out he wasn't much of a friend either" - he kept that painful smile on his face.

Elena did not know what to say. She did not think 'I'm sorry' quite covers it. She felt more than sad for him, and she realized he's as broken from the inside as much as she is.

"Do you.." - she coughed to clear her throat - "Do you still love her?"

Stefan shook his head. "No" - he said without giving it a second thought, and she did not know why, but she felt relief - "Now I realize she's not the person I was supposed to be with, because if she were, she wouldn't have done what she did. I've loved her once, and I'm sad we parted in such conditions, but I do not need her back, nor do I want her back. What we had is in the past, and she had hurt me so much that there's no place for her in my future."

"Is she the reason why you slept with me?" - she asked with a husky voice, slowly realizing the boldness of her question.

He had put his hand on the top of hers, and she felt familiar warmness. "No. You were not my rebound girl" - he kept shaking his head - "I slept with you because of the reasons that have nothing to do with her."

Which was true. He would not sleep with anyone. He would not have a one night stand with any other girl in that bar, or in this town. He slept with her because he wanted to.

She smiled at him although she did not look like she had believed him.

"And you, why did you sleep with me?" - he decided to ask.

Her face expression became serious. "Because just seeing you sitting across the bar made me feel something, and I haven't felt anything for a very long time."

**xxxx**

**A/N: I'm not killing any babies.**


	12. Kiss Me By The Broken Tree House

They say it takes us only a minute to fall in love. The rest of the time we spend realizing, and accepting the fact we have fallen in love.

But when does that minute happen? When we see the person for the first time, or early in the beginning when we're getting to know them better? Or after few months, when we're already in a relationship?

They write about how little time it takes for your brain to work around all of the chemicals and hormones that make us feel love, but no one writes about when does that minute happen. If we knew when it's going to take place, maybe we could hurry it up out of impatience, or we could avoid it because we're not ready, or run away from it out of fear.

Maybe the reason why no one writes about it, is because no one knows. Maybe we're not supposed to know, because maybe, this minute is a key minute of our entire life. The big, life changing moments in our lives seem to be happening for an eternity, when actually, they happen in a blink of an eye. When you look back at your childbirth, the first thing you will remember is the first time you laid your eyes on your child, or the first time you held them in your arms. When you look back at falling in love, the first thing you will remember is the moment you realized you're actually in love with this person who not so long ago, was a stranger.

You will try to pin point the moment when you actually fell in love, when your life changed and when your whole world turned upside down, but you will be unable to do it, because once you fall in love, you will have a feeling you loved this person for as long as you can remember.

Because big things in our lives happen in a minute, and the amount of the time for the change to happen is the same amount that butterfly needs to clap its wings.

And no one knows when that minute is going to take place, because out of some reason, we would try to change that minute, but that minute is perfectly sculptured in our life, which we do not realize until that minute passes. And that minute can seem like an eternity.

Elena was 6 months pregnant now, and her baby bump seemed as large as the nine month old bump of the pregnant woman who is carrying a single child. She outgrew all of her clothes, and Caroline was more than delighted to take her shopping for new clothes, although Elena had to stop and sit down in every new shop they entered. Rose, who only few weeks ago grasped a concept of how baby gets inside of mommy's belly, was now confused with how two babies got inside of Elena's belly. She had crazy theories, and she asked a lot of weird questions, but Elena would shush her with ice cream every time she would ask her something, hoping the next time she will ask Stefan one of her questions.

When they found out she's carrying twins, Stefan insisted on her taking maternity leave that same weak, since she's so petite, and carrying two babies is going to exhaust her more than it would exhaust some other women. He said he would never forgive himself if anything happened to either her or the babies, and that he's going to do everything in his power to prevent any complications, so making her stop working is the least he could do.

The worst thing for her was getting out of the bed. She had to roll around in the bed few times before coming to the edge of the bed and slowly bending her legs until she could feel the floor under the tips of her toes. Her back was hurting all of the time, too. She barely left the apartment, except when either Caroline or Lexi dragged her out, or when Stefan found time and made her take a walk with him in the park. She was waddling around the apartment, and every time she would see a proper place to sit, she would sit to rest.

Today, Stefan came back from work earlier than usual and made them dinner. He made Elena's favorite meal, spaghetti and meatballs, and Elena had to admit he could prepare that meal better than anyone. His cooking ability was only one of the perks when it came to living with Stefan, and now when she was eating not for one, not for two, but for three people, she enjoyed food more than she usually did. She never ate so much chocolate in her life before, and she would be craving sweets late in the evening. Stefan had no problems with getting up and driving to one of those 24/7 stores to bring her gummy bears, or double stuffed Oreos, or anything else she would be craving. Sometimes he would come back and find her asleep, and instead of frowning, he would smile at her and cover her with a blanket, saving whatever he had brought her for some other occasion.

For a dessert, he made them chocolate souffle. They popped in some comedy Elena picked out of his DVD collection and enjoyed the dessert as the movie started playing. Stefan kept glancing at Elena who's eyes were locked on the screen while she was releasing silent 'mmm' every time she would bring a spoon of the dessert to her mouth. He was constantly checking if she's fine, and his worry was a new, confusing feeling to him.

Elena gave a thought about her feelings for Stefan. She had a feeling they popped in unexpectedly, that they were only a phase because of the hormones due to her pregnancy, because he was the father of her children. And to her, her feelings did not make a sense, not even one bit. She told herself she will never fall for anyone else again, not after what she went through. She was too scared to feel, to love, to give herself to another human being again. Not physically, but emotionally. She was too scared to let anyone in her life like that, she was scared of someone knowing her, because she knew they would be able to use her own weaknesses against her. She told herself there isn't going to be anyone else ever again, but they were right when they said Stefan is different, because he is. It is impossible not to like Stefan. He's nice, and kind, and loving. He rarely gets mad or picks a fight, when you ask him to do something he does it gladly, he's a helper, he's a doctor, and he doesn't boss other people around, but talk to them, take their opinions and feelings into consideration before making a decision or compromising. There was nothing wrong with Stefan, except maybe the broken look behind his eyes that seemed to be healing with time.

But when it came to her feelings for him, it was more complicated. Sure, his personality played a part, but she very well knew that devil can put on a disguise and act like an angel. He was one of them, after all. The day she met him, the only thing she wanted to do was to feel something. Anything, really. Good, bad, she did not care, she only wanted to stop feeling so empty. And he made her feel, oh how did he made her feel. The feeling he gave her was more than good or bad, it was heavenly. She felt like she never felt before, because in the matter of a minute, all these feelings came rushing down her body, filling her mind, and no matter how familiar they were, in that moment they seemed new and unexplored, probably because she hasn't felt them in months. He made her feeling everything, from happiness to pleasure, and he made her smile before he made her moan.

And it was all about that, he made her feel what no one else had success in doing. He made her feel something, when she herself gave up on thinking she will ever feel anything.

In the moment he turned his head around to check on her, her face was still and full of surprise, with her lips parted a little and her eyebrows close to each other.

"Is there something wrong?" - he asked worriedly while sitting up and coming closer to her on the couch.

As she turned her head around to face him, the surprise on her face was replaced with a wide smile. She shook her head as she placed her hands on her baby bump. She was wearing pajama bottoms with skin tight black top with straps, which made her baby bump fall out of it in the bottom. He could see the skin of her stomach clearly.

"The baby kicked" - she said through a light, contagious laugh as she raised her shirt up, so he could see her bump as a whole. She looked at him as he smiled in the direction of her bump, so she took his hand with hers and put it on her stomach. He kept his hand there for few minutes, but he couldn't feel anything. But she did not let him move his hand away, as she placed both of her hands on his.

These past weeks, Stefan thought about Elena a lot. Although it was his little secret, and he wouldn't let anyone know what's going on inside of his mind. He thought about the similarities between Elena and Katherine. And as much as Elena held some traits of his ex, she was that much different than her. While Katherine loved luxury, Elena was a simple girl who knew how to enjoy small things. Even though Katherine liked Stefan's cooking, she would rather eat in fancy restaurants, while Elena was saying Stefan's food is better than any restaurant could offer. And to Stefan it seemed that Elena appreciated more who he is than what he is and how much money he makes. And with time, Katherine's picture started fading in his memory, and when he thought about home, the image of Elena popped into his mind. She and her soft, long, brown hair. Her big, glossy brown eyes that could make you do anything. Her lips he stared at frequently, so blood red and full. Her chubby childish cheeks that stood out on her petite figure, always slightly red. And then the smooth, silky skin of her body he remembered all too well. The way she happily greeted him whem he came home from work, and the way she made him tell her everything that was going on in the hospital. The way her morning laugh was different than her evening laugh, but the way her smile always decorated her face, even when she looked like she was going to cry. Or the way she could make him laugh even when he was tired and all of the lines of his face were stiff. And the fact she was the mother of his children made him care about her all the more. Not because of the sake of the babies, but because of her, and everything she was, everything she decided to show him about herself.

"I can feel it" - he said enthusiastically as he felt the baby kick. A painful expression appeared on Elena's face, but soon it was replaced with a smile, so he knew there's no need for an alarm. "Hey there baby, it's daddy" - he said again as he caressed her stomach with his hand, this time not being held by her own two hands. But there was no response, no more kicking. Elena looked at the smile on his face as he called himself 'daddy'. His face was so bright, so full of happiness.

"Lara, can you hear me?" - he said, bringing his head closer to the bump.

"Lara?" - she asked in surprise, cocking her eyebrow at him as he raised his head to look at her.

"I'm only trying it" - he grinned.

"I like it" - she smiled at him.

God, even angels probably envied her on that smile, Stefan thought as he looked at her.

The baby kicked again at the same spot. "Ouch" - Elena wept a little - "I think she likes it too" - she had put her hand on the spot the baby has kicked, feeling the closeness of Stefan's hand near hers.

"But how are we going to know its her when they come out?" - he furrowed his brows.

Elena laughed. "By the way she's kicking, I think she will be determined enough to let us know" - she caressed her stomach, easing the pain of baby kicking.

Stefan laughed after her before raising his look from her stomach to her face. God, she looked beautiful. She was practically glowing. Her long hair was falling over her shoulders, covering her bare skin. Her eyes were even bigger than he remembered them to be. It seemed like they grew every time he looked at them. She was blushing, so hard that the blush was reaching her small, perky nose. And there were her lips, parted a little, but so soft, so red.. so kissable.

And in that moment, the only thing he wanted to do was to kiss her. He looked at her lips, and he could swear they were trembling under the intensity of his look. Unlike him, her look was fixated on his eyes, slowly watching every move he's about to make.

There was an awkward silence between them, a silence louder than any song, screaming to be heard. He wanted to break that silence by the sound of pleasure buzzing inside of his ears as their lips collapsed.

He started raising his head up, bringing his lips closer to hers. He could feel her twitching under him, so he slowed his movements down in any case she wants to stop him. But she didn't do anything. She didn't show him in any way that she doesn't want this.

The radiance of her body was telling him she wants this as much as he does.

He had put his hand on her hip and brought her closer to him. She thought he's going to pull his hand away as soon as he reaches his goal, but he didn't. His hand rested on her hip for a while, and she did not understand why. She looked like a whale. But he did not care. There was something sexy about her, the way she was glowing, the way her eyes were telling him she's afraid and curious at the same time. He did not care about how big she is, or how by the confusion on her face by his touch could tell him how unattractive she thinks she is. She was as beautiful and as attractive as the first time he had seen her sitting across the bar, and the fact she was carrying his babies only made her that much more.. sexy.

Soon, his hand had left her hip and traced the lines of her waist, climbing up her arm, and finally resting on her cheek, his fingers caressing her skin. He lifted himself up a little, placing his other hand on the top of the couch, and now his lips were lingering above hers.

He recognized the familiar scent of her vanilla shampoo. She also smelled like everything he liked. Like coffee in the morning. Butter on a toast. Fresh orchid in the apartment. Cocoa in the winter, and tea in the middle of the fall. Cinnamon on the Christmas Eve. Smell of the new book. He could smell all of his favorite scents on her. He could also feel the warmness of her lips next to his, and how her eyes were still locked on his face. Her big, beautiful eyes, like chestnuts.

Slowly, he lowered his lips on hers, and she happily greeted him in a small peck. Peck that marked both of their lips for an eternity, a peck that made them burn from the inside. Both of them felt like their bodies are made out of a paper, but crashing their bodies into a burning fire between them has never felt so good.

He pulled his head back a little and looked her in the eyes. Their eyes met somewhere in the middle where they were emotionally the strongest and the weakest. While looking into her eyes, he had a feeling she's standing in front of him, giving him a bag full of secrets she never wanted anyone to know, because at this moment she looked so weak and so vulnerable, and the only thing he wanted to do was to take her in his arms and protect her from the every bad thing that might want to hurt her.

In that moment he swore that no matter what happens, he will never let anyone hurt her, because the look in her eyes was hurting him too. And he never wanted to see that look again.

She had put her hand on the back of his neck and played with his hair. He started slowly lowering his lips again, but she pulled his head down and their lips crashed so hard it had physically hurt both of them. If a person could ever hurt in a good way, this was it.

He had put both of his hands around her waist, and one of her hands was still on the back of his neck, while the other one was on his chest. They were kissing passionately, her lips perfectly following the rhythm of his. He pulled her even closer, so she leaned on him a little, putting the weight of her body on his. He held her tight, not wanting to let her go.

It takes only a minute to fall in love. For Stefan and Elena, this was that minute, and they weren't even aware of it.

Because this minute seemed like an eternity.


	13. After A Kiss

"You kissed!?" - Caroline shouted in surprise, and excitement, half jumping on her chair, making all of the people in the small coffee shop turn around to look at her. But Caroline did not care, she never cared. She was loud and impatient and overly excited, and if people could not handle that, they could not handle her, and it was their loss, not hers. Because Caroline was one of the rare people who actually liked who they are, accepting all of their flaws and making them into special traits, something even strangers would remember them by.

"Technically, I kissed her" - Stefan responded while eyeing his friend, who was making herself comfortable in her seat again.

"But she kissed you back?" - there was a huge amount of excitement in Caroline's voice. She took a glass of lemonade in her hands, taking a sip through a pink, swirly straw. She may or may not specially requested that straw from a waiter when she saw a kid next to them using it. And that waiter may or may not looked at her weird after realizing she's not kidding.

Stefan nodded as he crossed his arms on his chest. Caroline clapped with the palms of her hands out of the excitement while she kept smiling from ear to ear. Stefan had to smile back at her, mostly because of how excited she was.

"Was there any tongue involved?" - she cocked her eyebrow at him, asking this question a little bit quieter.

"Are we in 12th grade that you have to ask me that question?" - Stefan brought his eyebrows closer together, leaving a little space in shape of a triangle between them.

Caroline coughed to clear her throat. "Are we in 10th grade that you have to blush after I ask you that question?" - Caroline tried to keep calm, even though she did not like Stefan's cold attitude. Sometimes he knew to give her a cold shoulder after he felt she's being too pushy, but he would cave in sooner or later, and both of them knew it.

Stefan looked up at her while smirking. "Yes, there's been tongue."

Caroline bit her lower lip to stop herself from squealing. "So it was a full blown make out session that lasted.." - Caroline said, waiting for him to finish her sentence.

Stefan furrowed his brows. He was clearly trying to remember how long it lasted. "I don't know" - he said truthfully - "First, it seemed like an eternity, but when it was over.. I wanted more" - he confessed, smiling as he remembered their kiss. It wasn't their first kiss, but it sure felt like it was.

Caroline released a silent 'aww' while looking at him. "So..." - she prolonged that word to wake him up from the trans he was clearly still in - "What now?"

"What do you mean what now?" - Stefan very well knew what she meant by that question but did not want to face the reality of it.

Caroline bent closer to him. "What did that kiss mean? When you come home today, will you give her that 'hey honey, I'm home' kiss, or will you sit on the other ends of the table while cereal awkwardly?" - Caroline was trying to help him, but by the look on his face, she knew he doesn't have this figured out. Him and Elena have nothing figured out, and they never did. But they say the best things in our lives come unannounced.

She took a glass of lemonade in her hands - "You two should talk" - she said before taking a sip.

**xxxx**

Before Stefan went to meet Caroline, he dropped Elena at Lexi's. Since Lexi's building doesn't have an elevator, Stefan helped Elena climb the stairs by holding her hand. To their luck, Lexi was on the second floor, so there weren't so many stairs to cross.

"He kissed you?" - Lexi asked half surprised, half confused. She did not know him kissing her is such a good idea, because she did not know is he over Katherine or not. Even now, the two of them did not manage to push their friendship at the same level it was on before.

Elena nodded while taking a cup of hot chocolate in her hands. She could feel the warmth of the drink through the ceramic cup.

"And you kissed him back?" - Lexi asked, trying to cover all the facts. She knew the answer to that question well, because Elena had told her the story couple of minutes ago.

Elena nodded once again before taking a sip of hot chocolate. It had burned her tongue, but she did not care. It tasted so good.

"Are the two of you together now?" - Lexi furrowed her brows, a little confused with their situation. Probably as confused as both of them were.

Unlike Caroline, Lexi was careful. Caroline was all about taking a risk. She believes life is too short and that sometimes you have to listen to your heart, even if it does make rash decisions. Lexi also believes life is too short, and that is why we have to watch how we walk, because getting up might take too much of our time.

Elena raised her look at Lexi. "It's not that simple" - she shook her head and smiled lightly.

Of course it's not. With the two of them, nothing was ever simple. And that is what worried Lexi. While Caroline believed the two of them might fix each other, Lexi feared they might break each other even more.

"You should talk to him" - Lexi said with a bright smile on her face before taking a sip of hot chocolate herself.

**xxxx**

After a kiss, you have two choices - pretend it never happened, or face it.

Kiss can be a problem. And like any other problem, it's better to face it than to run away from it. Because you really can't run away from your problems, you can only hide for a while, until they find you and pile up one everything else that's been going on in your life.

Elena was lying in the living room couch after Lexi gave her a ride home. Nowadays, even a small amount of walking would exhaust her, preventing her from doing anything, even thinking. So she found some cookies on the bottom shelf and placed her self in front of the television.

She heard the doors opening. "I'm home" - a well known voice announced, voice which made her sit on the couch. He smiled at her from far away before walking in her direction and sitting on the couch next to her. He looked down at her half covered baby bump and smiled even wider.

"So, how does Lara sound to you?" - he asked while grinning at her bump like he would grin at a child. He looked adorable while doing so. He's going to be a great dad, Elena thought.

Elena had put her hand on the top of her bump. "I like it" - she smiled lightly in the direction of her stomach. "Do you have a name for another one?"

Stefan looked up at her, and when she felt his eyes on her, she instantly raised her look up too. "Why don't you choose the other one? I'm sure there's a name you've always liked" - he smiled at her, remembering all of the names Lexi picked for her children when they were younger. Caroline was never the type to talk about the future, and babies, she always lived in the present. But Elena seemed to be similar to Lexi, she seemed motherly.

Elena smiled at him, looking into his warm eyes. They seemed greener than usual. Elena developed a theory the color of his eyes is deeper when he's happy, and brighter when he's sad, because it's reflecting all of the sadness within him.

"Emily" - Elena finally said while caressing her bump.

Lara and Emily, Stefan repeated in his head. Sounds nice. Sounds real. He could already see them, running around the apartment. But will they? Run around the apartment? Will Elena still be here by the time the girls start walking? He knew she will stay with him after she has the babies, because both of them agreed she can't raise twins by herself, but when will she leave? Does he want her to leave? He has gotten used to having her around, that her leaving would leave a big hole in his life.. in him. She would take their children away with her, but she would leave him too.

And he wasn't sure he will be okay with that. He's not okay with it now. He will not be able to let her go. He is not able to let her go.

"We should talk.." - he began, but had a hard time forcing the rest of the sentence come out of his mouth.

"About the kiss, I know" - she finished instead of him, but unable to look him in the eyes.

There was an awkward silence between them. Neither of them knew what to say.

"Why did you kiss me?" - she finally asked, when the silence became unbearable. She felt like something is holding her tied up in her own body.

"Because I wanted to" - he decided to be completely and utterly honest with her, as well as with himself.

Elena raised her head in surprise, surprise he did not understand. Is the fact he would want to kiss her so surprising? Especially since his want for her has been far greater than he could ever remember experiencing.

"What did that kiss mean?" - she asked him, remembering Lexi's words. She kept her look locked on his.

One question he did not have an answer to. He chuckled and clapped with the palms of his hands. "I don't know. Does it have to mean something?" - he asked, but she had no answer prepared for him - "I.. I wanted to kiss you. Because of many reasons. Do we have to define it now?" - he coughed to clear his throat.

Her eyes widened. "Do you want to kiss me now?" - she asked blankly.

"Yes" - he said without giving it a second thought. He did not even realize he wanted to kiss her until she asked him.

But he did. He really did want to kiss her. He could feel the same want and need he had the first time he had kissed her. His look slowly fell on her lips.

"What are you waiting for then?" - she asked.

She wanted to be kissed by him too. She could feel her lips trembling.

He looked up at her eyes with a surprise on his face. But then, the corners of his lips turned into a smirk. He bent a little, keeping his eyes locked on hers until their lips touched.

And he realized he did not only want to kiss her.

He wanted to keep kissing her. And she wanted to keep being kissed by him.

**xxxx**

**It seems feelings keep on creeping up on them, even though they can't define them. But can they ever have anything before Elena tells him about her past, and did she really get over her fear of being with someone? And can she cross over her fears until she faces them?**

**I'm also very grateful for your reviews :)**


	14. Second Chance For Love

Sometimes, love creeps up on us.

It sneaks into our lives when we least expect it. When we turn our back to it, it taps us on the shoulder. When we're not ready for it, it makes us turn our whole world around to become ready. When we do not want it, it presents itself to us as the most desirable thing in the world.

They say there's a thin line between hate and love. Actually, there's a great wall of China between hate and love.

But we cannot know love if we do not know hate. Also, we cannot love if we do not know how to forgive. Because even though there's a difference between love and hate as huge as an empty space between the ground and the sky, we have to accept the existence of one to achieve the other.

Elena was entering the 9th month of her pregnancy. Her appointment was in two weeks, and her doctor hoped she will give birth on time, not sooner, not later. Although, when it comes to twins, it would better be later than sooner.

Not if you asked Elena. She was swollen. She had a feeling show swallowed two watermelons that are now stuck in her stomach. By this time, she needed help with getting up from wherever she sat, especially from the bed. She was wearing her baby bump pretty high, but she had a feeling if she does not hold on to it, it will fall to her knees. Her back had hurt her immensely, she could not even bend which was the problem when showering. If she would bend, her spine would hurt, especially while pulling herself straight up.

Stefan was getting excited about the babies coming, while the only thing Elena was excited about was popping them out already, even though she was scared. She heard a lot of things about giving birth to a child, painful and unpleasant things, and she will have to give birth to two of them, one immediately after the other.

"You missed the spot there" - Elena pointed at the spot on the wall while sitting on her new wooden, rocking chair and sipping ice tea.

Stefan turned around to look at her. He had pink paint splattered all over his grey shirt. "Have I?" - he cocked his eyebrow at her.

A smile appeared on her face as she nodded to him, still sipping her ice tea through a yellow straw.

She did not define what she had Stefan, even though there was definitely something to define. She did not want to put a label on it, and Stefan seemed fine with it. She did not call him her boyfriend, nor did she think of him as one, but she did enjoy an occasional make out, or cuddling with him on the couch. Sometimes he held her hand in public, and sometimes they would even kiss in front of people which would often confuse their friends, but after three months of that going on in front of their eyes, they got used to it. Caroline said they're in a relationship, and that they're not even aware of it.

Elena was not confused about her feelings for Stefan anymore, she had a huge crush on him, mixed with respect and admiration, and she wanted to be with him. But when she realized her feelings, they started scaring her. She promised herself she will never fall in love again. She hated the thought of starting an another relationship, or falling in love again.

Maybe there's a little bit of hate in every love.

But Stefan walked into her life, and she wanted to lose in him, nothing more. And now, she wanted to be saved by him.

Stefan did not want to pressure her, but sometimes, it bugged him not knowing what she is to him. He wanted her to be his.. something. And she wanted to be his something. If she gave him a chance, he would make sure she's his everything.

But fear ruled her.

Stefan started walking towards her. "What about this spot here?" - he smirked, pointing to her nose with the brush in his hands.

Elena curved her lips in the shape of the letter O. "Don't" - she warned him.

He made a step forward. "Don't what?" - a wide grin appeared on his face. "This?" - he said as he pulled the brush over the tip of her nose, leaving a small, pink smudge there.

"Stefan" - she said his name through a laughter before bringing her eyebrows closer together, leaving a small triangle between them.

He pouted at her frowning face. "Here, I'll take care of it" - he said while bending down. He had put his hands on the sides of the chair, brought his head closer to hers, and kissed the tip of her nose. It was a short, gentle kiss. He barely pressed his lips on it. But it made her skin tingle. He detached his lips from her nose and pressed his thumb on it. "There, all better" - he smiled at her, and she smiled back. He turned around at the wall to look at it. "Ah, now I can see that spot I missed" - he said as he dipped the brush in the bucket of paint.

The doorbell rang. "I'll get it" - said Elena while trying to get up from the chair. She rocked herself few times before jumping a little and landing on her feet. Stefan smiled at her as he watched her leave.

When she reached the front door, she was short of breath. But when she opened them, there was no air in her lungs at all. Her face went pale, and she had a feeling like something is choking her. She wanted to run, but her legs would not let her.

Love creeps up on us. But hate, it comes crashing down on us, like a tornado.

"Nik" - she gasped.

**xxxx**

"What.." - she swallowed hard - "What are you doing here?" - she asked with a trembling voice.

He noticed how scared she was, so he smiled, delightfully. It's like he fed on her fear.

"What do you mean, love? I'm here to see you. Aren't you happy to see me?" - he could see a devil behind his eyes. One on his shoulder too, whispering into his ear.

Her eyes flickered with anger, which took him by surprise. She was always so weak under his stare.

"How did you find me?" - she murmured.

He crossed his arms on his chest, looking at her face, not happy with what he's seeing. He did not like this Elena, who's voice was higher than his. She's not in a place he had put her anymore, a place where she should be. Place of constant fear and guilt, and trying to be better, trying to be more.

"I have my ways" - he waved with his hand as he leaned down on the door frame.

She honestly thought she's never going to see him again. She had a feeling she's in her worst nightmare, wanting to get out, but not being able to. She wanted to turn back the time when she was in that room with Stefan, safe and happy.

"Are you not going to invite me in?" - he made a step forward.

"No" - she said fiercely, loudly, putting her hands on her stomach, like she's protecting her children. Like any mother would do.

In that moment he lowered his head to her baby bump and gasped.

"Well Elena" - he smirked - "You were never a model, but you've gotten fatter since the last time I saw you" - he raised his look to her face, smiling at her devilishly.

She wanted to call for Stefan, but there was no voice in her throat.

"Is it mine?" - he finally asked.

"God no!" - she answered, repulsed by the idea of having his child. She would be afraid her whole life it's going to turn out the same as his father is.

There was fire inside of his eyes. He was obviously offended by the tone of her voice. No one speaks like that to him, especially not her. But the beginning of his sentence was interrupted by the sound of Stefan's voice.

"Elena, who is it?" - he peeped out of the baby's room, his eyes locked at the door. His look moved between the man standing in front, and Elena's trembling figure holding on to the door.

"Elena?" - he started walking towards her, slowly, the man in front of the door now looking at Stefan. When she finally turned her head around, the only thing he could see in her eyes was fear. He realized he had seen that fear before. When she broke that cup couple of months ago.

She did not have to say anything to let him know she wants this man gone.

"Is everything okay?" - he stood behind her and took her by the shoulders, kissing the side of her temple. He could feel her body trembling under his lips. The man was looking at him, and he seemed a little bit surprised by his presence. "I'll have to ask you to leave now, you're obviously scaring her" - Stefan decided to be polite. He was always polite. And as much as Elena loved that about him, this time she wanted him to be everything but polite.

Nik crossed his arms on his chest and stood like a statue in front of them both. "And if I refuse?" - he asked smugly.

Elena flinched under Stefan's touch, so he decided to tighten his grip around her shoulders. "Then I'll have to remove you myself" - he said through his teeth.

Nik's smugly smile disappeared from his face, surprised by sharpness of a man in front of him. His look fell on Elena and he smiled at her, before turning around and walking away. Stefan had shut the door before either of them could see Nik entering an elevator.

"I have to pack" - Elena said as she started walking past Stefan - "I have to move. From this apartment, from this town" - she started walking towards her bedroom.

He followed her and entered the room behind her.

"You're not going anywhere" - he was confused by her reaction, but also very determined with his words.

"You do not understand - he found me!" - she yelled as she opened her closet, trying to find her suitcase.

"Elena, stop" - he said that more as a plead than as an order.

She turned around for a moment to face him. "The last time I saw him he told me he will kill me if he ever sees me again" - she said sharply, and seriously.

Stefan gasped. "He did what?" - he asked with so much repulsion, and anger, and disbelief in his voice. He was breathing heavily, she could see the movement of his chest through his pink splattered grey shirt.

And then, out of nowhere, she had burst into tears. She was trying to keep it together, but she was not able to. She was sore. Her whole body had hurt. And now her mind did too. She had a feeling her legs are going to give up on her. They almost did, but luckily Stefan was there to catch her in mid-air.

"Tell me what happened" - he said as he lead her to bed. He had made her sit down and put his arm around her shoulders.

"I can't" - she shook her head.

"If you don't tell me, I can't help you" - he was trying to reason with her.

She lifted her head from his shoulder to look at him. "I do not need your help. I can deal with this on my own. I do not need you to fight my battles for me" - she said sharply, and those words were like a slap on the face for him, but he tried not to take them too personally.

He squeezed her closer to him. "No, you can't" - he said while looking her in the eyes - "I know that you're strong, you have already proven that to me. You're the strongest woman I ever had a pleasure of meeting. But you can't do this alone. Asking for help does not make you weak. Knowing you need it and not asking for it does" - he said as calmly as possible.

She looked at him, but this time, there was no more anger in her eyes. He did something to her. He made her not feel ashamed of what happened to her. He made her help understand that she can be strong and independent even if she does need someone's help from time to time.

It's like he fixed one part of her that was broken.

"I met him in my first year of college" - she started talking, not removing her look from Stefan's face - "It was not long after my parents died, and he was the first person I felt actually understands me. It was like he could read my mind. And I fell in love with him. In the beginning, he was wonderful. Picture perfect" - she smiled painfully at the memory of the beginning of their relationship - "And then, after few months, he started having his moments. He would start being mean, sometimes he would call me names, but not long after, he would apologize. He was good with right words as good as he was with the wrong ones. He would say he had a bad day, or that he's tired, and I believed him, because all of us have bad days" - Stefan squeezed her hand with his to encourage her and give her support. She looked down at their joined hands and smiled lightly before continuing. "Then we moved in together, and his bad days were more frequent and lasted longer. And when I realized how stupid I was, it was too late. I was miles away from my family, I lost every contact to them. None of my friends believed me because in front of them he appeared like the perfect boyfriend" - tears started rolling down her face. Sometimes when she would talk about it, or even think about it, she would have a feeling she's reliving it all over again.

But in order to conquer your fears, you need to face them.

"Elena, what did he do to you?" - Stefan asked, more worried than before.

But it was like he did not hear him, she continued with her own pace, and he accepted that. "At first, insults were not too bad. Sometimes, he would tell me I look like a homeless person dressed like that, or that with make up I look like a hooker. Sometimes, he would tell me I need to lose weight, or that what I'm about to do is not the smartest move. I wanted to be a doctor, I was on my way to become one, but he told me I'm too stupid for that. That the world does not need one more incompetent fool. And I listened to him, because I was afraid of what he might do if I didn't listen to him. Then, the insults became worse. He called me fat, ugly, idiot, slut in my face. He would call me worthless, and he often said world would be such a better place without me in it, and that if he was me, he would end his life" - she clung to Stefan while tears started rolling down her face harder and harder.

"Did he ever hit you?" - Stefan asked, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

Elena shook her head. "No. But sometimes I wish he did, if that meant he would stop talking, telling me how unloved I am, how unworthy of love I am, and how it's no surprise everyone I love eventually leave me. And he knew he can say all those things to me because he was all that I had. But he never did hit me. Sometimes he would break things, especially when he came home drunk. He would pass out and forget he did break them, and then accused me of doing it. Only gave him a reason more to yell at me. I guess sex was the worst. He would not even ask me do I want to do it. He would rip of the clothes that was in his way and climb himself on top of me, and when he was done, he would roll down on the bed, and fall asleep. And I'd be awake for few more hours, crying.. but I actually felt nothing. And then one day, I realized I need to turn my life around. I found myself a job, saved some money, and finally told him I'm leaving him. I expected him to protest, but he did not. He yelled some and in the end told me if he ever sees me again he's going to kill me" - Elena tried to clean her face with the palms of her hands but the tears kept streaming down her face.

Stefan felt disgusted by what Nik did to her. She fell in love, she gave her heart to another, and he took advantage of that. He broke her. He took away her dignity. Her spirit. He ruined her life. It was no wonder she looked so sad for such a long time. So broken.

He could not even describe with words how much he hates people like him. Who think they can control another being only because it seams weaker. How powerless and unworthy they can make them feel.

"I'm going to find him and break every bone is his body" - he said with angry voice, but his eyes were flooded with sadness.

Elena looked at him. "Do not talk like that. I told myself I'll never love again, I told myself I'll never be with anyone ever again. And then I met you.. and you fixed me. You made me feel more in that one night than I managed to feel in years. And the reason why I knew these babies are yours is because I haven't slept with him.. I haven't slept with anyone else but you in over a year" - she lifted her hand and put it on his cheek, slowly caressing him. "And the only thing I wanted to do is to get lost in someone. But while I was trying to do so.. you found me, and you made me not want to disappear. And from the beginning I knew you're more than one night stand, I was only scared to admit it" - her eyes glimmered like fireflies while looking at him.

He had put his hand on hers and brought his head closer to hers, resting his forehead against hers. Another wave of tears started falling down her face. He took her in his hug, and she wrapped her arms around him, clinging on to him.

"I have you now" - he whispered into her ear - "And I'm never letting you go."

**xxxx**

**A/N: Sorry if it took me longer to update, but my classes started so I'm a little busy so please forgive me if I fail to update regularly, even though I'll try.**

**Uh, oh. A lot has happened in this chapter. Now we know Elena's "mystery" man. Do you think this is the last time we've seen him? What do you say about the progress between Stefan and Elena? Will this help them make a next step, or will it only hold them back.**

**Thank you for all of your reviews, all of you are super nice :)**


	15. Double Trouble

Elena was sitting on the couch reading a book. Actually, the book was only a cover, so Stefan wouldn't be coming to her every second, asking her is she feeling okay, or does she need anything. He was acting like she's going to break any minute now. And she had a feeling she will, but she was not about to confess that to him.

Ever since Nik showed up in front of their front door two weeks ago, she's been on needles. She knew this kind of a stress and worrying is not good for the babies, especially this late in the pregnancy, but she couldn't help herself. She hasn't seen Nik since that day. Truth be told, she went out only couple of times during these previous two weeks, and she was always with either Stefan, Caroline or Lexi. Sometimes she would stand in front of a window, hiding behind curtains, thinking he's maybe watching her, although she was sure there is no way to see clearly to the apartment from the street. She was becoming paranoid. She was convinced he's up to something. But she was trying to hide her concerns from Stefan, she did not want him to worry too much.

Since she told him what kind of life she was leading before she moved to Mystic Falls, she felt so vulnerable in front of him, and she has yet not decided is that a good or a bad thing. She trusted him. She believed him. She cared for him. She wanted to share everything with him, because she hated lies, and she hated pretending. But she did not want to expose herself too much. She did not want to make herself so comfortable. Because she was scared. Not of him. She was not scared of Stefan turning into someone else, or her evoking his bad sides, not anymore. She was living with Stefan long enough, and she knew him long enough, to know that is not possible.

But she was scared that one day she is going to wake up and realize none of this is real. Like everything has been a dream where she finally got everything she wished for. Like someone pulled some cruel prank on her. She was scared he will realize he can do better, he can do more.

And she did not want to live like that. She did not want to be controlled by fear, especially fear that is telling her she is not good for someone else. She is done with that life. She's going to be a mother now. She has to be good enough, she has to believe she is, and she doesn't need someone else telling her otherwise. Although she was sure Stefan would never tell her something like that, even if he thought it.

"Hey" - she heard his voice next to her ear, so she raised her head from the book and looked at his face. "I brought you some snacks" - he had put a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies on a table in front of her. Stefan was like one of those soccer moms, he baked and baked and baked cookies like there was no tomorrow.

"Thanks" - she said as she smiled lightly, although she was not even remotely hungry. But they smelled so go. Maybe she will take one. Just one.

"Here, let me help you" - he took a plate from the table and brought it closer to her. But in the moment he did so, she stretched her hand out to reach for the cookie, and her hand scraped against his. As soon as she felt his skin against hers, she twitched and pulled her hand back. He was taken back by her reaction.

He noticed she has been acting strange, different, since the day her ex showed up on their doorstep, but he did everything possible to let her know he will stick by her through anything. That he doesn't think any less of her, or cares for her any less.

"Elena.." - he said softly while putting his hand on hers. He could feel how stiff her body is. She looked pale, too. His eyes locked on her face, and she was already staring at him.

He started pulling his finger up her arm. "What he did to you was awful" - he said with a low and steady voice while pulling his finger slowly up her arm. She could feel goosebumps on her skin. "No one deserves to be treated like that, especially not someone as pretty, smart and talented as yourself" - his compliments stuck in her ear long after they escaped his lips. Now his finger was on her shoulder, tracing her collar bone, then smoothness of her neck. "But I'm not him" - he raised his look from her neck onto her eyes. He was tracing the lines of her beautiful face with his finger. Finally, he cupped her face with both of his hands. Her cheeks were so warm under his thumbs. "I wish you would give me a chance to prove that to you" - he looked at her, trying to memorize the lines of her face, the smoothness of her skin, her big, beautiful chestnut eyes and matching hair. She started blushing. She felt so big under his look. The way he talked about her.. she had a feeling she can do anything she wants. "Will you give me a chance?" - he asked hopefully.

She could feel tears in the back of her eyes. Of course she wanted to give him a chance. But..

No more buts, said a voice inside of her head.

He is the father of her children. He saved her in more ways than once. He was saving her from the moment she met him, and she wasn't even aware of it.

There was no more space for words. There was no need for words. Only actions.

She had put her hands on top of his, that were still cupping her face, and smiled lightly at him. So much time, so many events, happened between the cold stare she gave to him in the bar, and a warm smile she's giving to him now.

And she would not change that time for anything in the world. She never planned this life for herself, and surely, neither did he, but both of them were glad their life took this course. No matter how hard it is, every step they made, every thing that happened to them, even the ones that hurt them, brought them one step closer to each other.

She brought her head closer to his, and gently pressed her lips on his. He tasted like cinnamon. She tasted like happiness. Which were pretty much the same thing.

He removed his hands from her face and wrapped them around her, caressing her back. She had put her hands on the back of his neck. They were intertwined in a passionate kiss. Their bodies burned, and both of their hands were slippery.

Stefan was steady on the ground, not wanting to let go, and Elena was up in the sky, not wanting to come down.

But her head jerked, on his surprise, as she pulled away from him.

"Is there something wrong?" - he asked while looking at her confused face expression.

"Actually, yes" - she lowered her head down - "I think my water just broke" - she raised her head up to look at him.

She caught his surprised and frightened look. He looked like a lost puppy. As a doctor, he should be calm, as a father, he couldn't be.

He ran to her room to get the suitcase she has packed for the hospital. He almost tripped a few times as he was making his way back. He helped her stand on her feet, and unlike him, she was holding it together. While they were riding in an elevator and walking to the car, she shouted silently, and sobbed, a few times in pain. She would hold her grip on him tightly, and in return, he would hold on to her, giving her much needed support.

The time from the moment they arrived to the hospital to the moment the doctor came out of the delivery room was probably the longest wait of his life. It must have been at least 12 hours. Lexi was about to go home when they arrived, and decided to wait with Stefan. He has finally sent her home when she almost fell asleep on a chair, but he promised he will call as soon as the babies come. Bonnie and Damon stopped by, but they could not stay for long, since it was way past Rose's bedtime. Caroline stayed with him all the way through it, bringing him coffee and chit chatting about stuff that could take his mind away from the fact Elena is in there, giving birth to twins. She finally went home to change only few minutes before the doctor came out of the delivery room. Stefan knew Caroline will kill him when she finds out, although she was the one who said she can't spend more than 24 hours in the same outfit.

The doctor informed him Elena gave birth to two healthy, baby girls and that she's resting now, so he will be able to see her later. He told him he can see his daughters now, so Stefan started walking into their direction.

He did not even have to look twice, he recognized them immediately. They say all babies look the same, but they don't. You recognize your own flesh and blood. His look fell one them instantly, and..

..and he loved them.

They were his. They were theirs. They created them. He helped. And they were perfect. They were so little. And they were asleep. Funny, he thought, they were trapped for 9 months, and now, all they want to do is sleep. But they looked so peaceful, covered in pink soft blankets and little fluffy pink hats.

He could watch them for hours, and he probably did. Until Caroline came back, squealed so hard she probably woke up half of the town, and said it was her turn to enjoy the sight in front of them. She practically glued herself to the window. After some time Stefan finally gave up, heading off to Elena's room.

When he peeked in, she was awake. She still looked tired, and her head was turned to the window.

"Hey" - he said silently as he came into the room on the tip of his toes.

She turned her head around and smiled at him lightly. There was something different about her. She lost that pregnancy glow, but she got another one.

"How are they?" - she asked curiously. She saw them only once before the nurses took them to clean them up, weigh them and dress them, and by the time they were done, Elena was already asleep. She wanted to stay awake so badly, she wanted to see them, to hold them, but tiredness got the best of her.

"They're beautiful, just like you" - he said, giving her the same smile she gave to him the moment before, while standing next to her and gently squeezing her hand.

She tried to laugh, but she was even too tired for that. "I probably look worse than ever" - she kept looking him in the eyes.

"You think?" - he smiled - "Because to me, you look more beautiful than ever" - he bent down to kiss her forehead.


	16. We're We

Being a parent is one of the hardest jobs in the world, if not the hardest job. You have to be ready, but then again, you never are. People can try to explain to you how it feels to be a parent, but no words can capture that feeling. You constantly have a feeling you're doing something wrong, like you're missing out on something, like you're going to make a wrong move and screw up your own child's life. You're responsible for another human life, you're about to help shape another person, you have to instill some values in them, warn them about the world, keep them safe, but also make sure they never lack anything, especially happiness and love. But even though you constantly worry about countless of things, being a parent is also one of the most beautiful experiences life can offer you.

Elena will never forget the moment she held her daughters in her arms for the first time. The happiness she experienced while they were stretching and yawning in her arms is like nothing she ever experienced before. She wanted to freeze time so she can enjoy this moment forever. She wanted to leave her body so she can experience this moment as an outsider. She wanted to see the look on her face and how she looks like while holding her own children. She wanted to see does being a mother reflects well on her. But most of all, she wanted to capture the happiness she was feeling, because she knew there's nothing quite like it in this world, and she was afraid it will slip away from her if she doesn't capture it properly.

One of the babies in Elena's arms jerked her leg a little, and the movement seemed strangely familiar to Elena. Before she could put her mind on it, she heard Stefan laughing. He made one step closer to her and bent down above the baby in her right arm.

"This one must be Lara" - he said with a gentle voice, much gentler than he usually used, Elena noticed.

The baby released a silent, satisfactory moan, which made both Stefan and Elena smile.

"So this is Emily" - Elena turned her head to the other baby who was sleeping soundly in her other arm. When Elena looked back at Stefan, he was looking at Emily with a peaceful smile on his face. Then his look moved back to the kicking baby who was now yawning.

"May I?" - he raised his look up to Elena, only a little, so he could still see Lara yawning.

Elena did not understand his need to ask if he can hold his own child, but she had let it slide. "Of course" - she replied with a smile on her face.

Stefan smiled back and reached for the baby in her arms. As soon as he took her, she stopped kicking, she stopped yawning, and her eyes were set on him.

"Hey there beautiful" - he said to her as she held her eyes on him.

He kept looking at her with so much love in his eyes. He never thought it's possible to love someone so much without even knowing them. She finally fell asleep after she closed her eyes and rolled to his chest. She looked so tiny in his arms, tinier than she looked in hers, and Elena thought how she hasn't seen anything more beautiful in her life.

Lara was much stronger than Emily was. She was bigger and she weighed more. She held on to Stefan like she didn't come to the world only couple of hours ago. Emily was small and weighed not more than a leaf. But she was a fighter.

There was a knock on the door. Before either of them had a chance to answer, the door opened a little, and Caroline's head peeked in. "Can I come in?" - she asked with a pleading look. Elena nodded with her head and smiled. Caroline flung the door open happily. She walked over to Elena's bed and leaned over to see the baby she was holding in her hands.

"Caroline, meet Emily" - Elena said to Caroline while lifting the baby off her chest and handing it over to her. Caroline pulled a smile from ear to ear, grinning at the sight in front of her. Emily, it had fit her well. It was a strong name, but also very delicate. Caroline moved the blanket on the side so she could see her face better. She had a small puff of light brown hair on the top of her head, one that matched her barely visible eyebrows. Her skin was as soft as silk, and her lips were bright red, as well as her cheeks.

"She's so tiny" - Caroline made a silent comment out of fear she's going to wake the baby up.

"Yeah, she's tinnier than her sister" - Stefan moved closer to Caroline who's eyes were glowing at the sight in front of her. "And this is Lara" - Stefan said, standing next to Caroline. Caroline moved her look away from Emily to Lara, and a big smile appeared on her face. She looked back at Emily, then at Lara, then back at Emily.

"They're completely the same" - Caroline made an observation. Elena released a light chuckle. She was still tired from childbirth, although she had a nice amount of sleep.

A devilish smile appeared on Caroline's face. "I can already see those two giving you a hard time" - she winked at Stefan, but then cocked her eyebrow at him - "Let's switch" - she whined, wanting to hold the other baby in her arms too.

Stefan stretched out his other hand so Caroline can put Emily there, so she did, while Elena kept her eyes on them widely in fear they're going to drop one of them. Stefan saw the worried look on her face, but did not react to it. When Caroline placed Emily on his other arm, she took Lara in her arms. Lara fussed a little, clearly she did not want to be taken away from her dad. But the fussing was short, and she went beck to sleep in Caroline's arms. Stefan took his other daughter in his arms, the one he hasn't held before, and rocked her a little, admiring the soft lines of her face. Lara was clearly her fathers daughter, she fussed, but Emily was picture perfect of her mother. So calm, so beautiful, and her face had that special look where she looked like she's smiling even when she wasn't.

**xxxx**

Stefan was lying on the couch with his hands on his face. He could not remember the last time he slept. He smelled like poop, and his shirt was covered in puke. Baby bottles, pacifiers, diapers, baby clothes and some toys Caroline bought without realizing two week old babies cannot play with them, were spread all over the apartment. He had no idea what day it is.. he barely knew what time of a day it is.

Elena slowly closed the door of the babies bedroom, careful not to make a sound. She came to the couch walking on the tip of her toes.

"They're asleep" - she whispered to him. He removed the hands from his face to look at her.

"Asleep? Both of them?" - he asked like he doubted her. It seemed impossible. The two of them never slept. Not at the same time, at least. When one fell asleep, the other one woke up. It was like some vicious twin circle. He loved them, he really did, but sometimes he thought they're doing this to them intentionally. Which was crazy, because they were only two innocent babies. Two very loud innocent babies who only slept, pooped and puked.

Elena smiled tiredly and nodded her head before she frowned at him. "You're covered in puke" - she said while examining his shirt. She had time to change, and take shower, and sleep. He thought it's only fair, since she carried them for nine months and had a 12 hours long childbirth.

He smiled as he stood on his own two feet. He looked down at his shirt. "Yes, I am, your daughters puked all over me" - he furrowed his brows, but could not hold his smirk.

She had put her hands on her hips and cocked her eyebrow at him. "Oh, so when they puke on people, they're my daughters, but when they're sleeping like little angels, they're ours?" - she grinned.

"That's right" - he wanted to cross his arms on his chest for the effect, but he remembered he has puke all over his shirt, so he gave up on the idea. Instead, he kept his face expression as serious as possible.

She sighed. "You should really change."

"Yeah" - he said and nodded. He smelled awful. People could probably smell him on the first floor of the building. He took the ends on the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up, revealing his strong torso. He took the shirt off completely, revealing his muscled arms and strong back. He was standing shirtless in front of her and she couldn't help but.. stare. She simply stared. He looked amazing, he obviously took care of his body. He was going to the gym twice a week, but that will obviously change now when the babies are here. His abs were like tiles, for a moment there, she could have sworn she was able to see her reflection on his abs. She remembered the night they spent together, how good it felt to feel his hard torso on her stomach, and how well her fingers were sliding over his chest, then back. His back were a whole another story, though. She remembered how tightly he held her in his embrace with the arms that seemed to have the strength of seven gods. He was so strong, but so gentle at the same time.

"Has no one ever told you it's rude to stare?" - he finally said, grinning at her.

She knew he was trying to push her buttons and well.. it was working. She started mumbling, trying to think of something smart to say, but there was nothing, her brain went completely blank. "Uhm, I'm, uhm.. sorry" - was all she was able to say.

He smiled and made a step forward to her. He had put her hair behind her ear. She trembled when the tip of his thumb touched her skin. He had noticed that, but did not react until the hair was gone from the side of her face, and her neck. "You don't have to be" - he caressed her blushing cheek. She looked into his eyes and wanted to pull his soul out of them to join it with her own. She lowered her head on his hand as he caressed her cheek with his thumb. He lowered his head down and started kissing her neck. He pressed his lips gently on her skin, making her lose it after the first touch. He had put his hands on her hips and pulled her closer. She felt the lack of self confidence because of her baby fat, but soon enough she forgot all about it because of pleasure that was wavering over her body. She had put her hands on the back of his neck, sending tingles through his spine. She was not the only one losing it because of his touch, she was doing the same to him.

"God, you taste so good" - he said in between kisses he was planting on her neck, collar bone, shoulders from which he removed her shirt. He squeezed the flesh of her hips with his hands. She jumped a little because of his touch, scratching her body on his. She smiled because of his words.

"I think we should stop" - she said with a sad tone of voice, pulling her hands away from the back of his neck. He raised his head up and looked at her confused. She seemed to be totally for what they have been doing a minute ago. "This is confusing" - she bit her lower lip. He gave her another confused look. "What exactly are we?" - she looked away from him, a little embarrassed to be asking that question.

He scratched the back of his neck. "You just gave birth to our children, it would be weird calling you my girlfriend" - he smiled lightly.

A girlfriend? The word kept buzzing in her head. Was she his girlfriend, and if she was, when did she became one? Did she mind being his girlfriend? No. But he had a point, considering their situation, it sounded weird.

He looked like he's thinking hard, but then the lines of his face softened. He took her hands in his. "We do not have to label our relationship. We can simply be.. Stefan and Elena."

Stefan and Elena. She was his, and he was hers. She liked the sound of it, there was a nice ring to it.

"I like it" - she smiled to him after glancing at their intertwined hands. She got on the tip of her toes and gave him a peck on the lips.


	17. My Family, I Found It On My Own

Even though Stefan and Elena did not define their relationship, no one could deny they're a couple now, not even the two of them, even though they tried. Stefan did not want to pressure Elena into something she wasn't ready to, especially now when he was aware of her previous life, partially because he was worried for her, partially out of fear she will back down, and that's the last thing he wanted her to do. He did not want to lose her, not now when he had finally found her. Not now when he.. when he started falling in love with her. Because he really did have a feeling he's falling in love with her, slowly, safely. It was like going through a low lit tunnel in a boat, slowly waving on the still river. It was comforting and soothing, and it was the best feeling he ever felt in his entire life. No matter how hard their situation seemed, falling in love with her, the idea of loving her, seemed easy. It seemed like something he was born to do. Elena was everything he needed, everything he wanted. She was humble, and caring, and loving, and nice. She had a different laugh for every situation, and when she was interested in something, her eyes grew to the size of tennis balls while she talked. She laughed to every one of his jokes, well she laughed when she had no reason to as well. She was also funny and intelligent, opinionated and not afraid to speak her mind. She was beautiful, but most importantly, she was strong.

So much stronger than the woman he laid his eyes on a year ago at the bar. With so much more will to live, with a much brighter smile on her face. She told him she wouldn't have been able to do it without him, but he said she gives herself too little credit for her own work. But it was nice, the fact that she needed him. He liked being needed, that is why he became a doctor, because he wanted to be there for people. His brother never needed him, nor did his father. Caroline and Lexi needed him, but it was a different kind of a need. Katherine needed certain things from him, but he never felt that she needed him as a person. But Elena.. she needed someone to save her, or better yet.. she needed someone to prove to her that she can be saved. That she is worth of saving. And he helped her stand on her own two feet and over time he watched her take her first steps. And in the beginning, he wasn't even aware that he's helping her.

And in the end, she was the mother of his children, and every time he would look at them, he would see a little bit of Elena on their faces. Which made him love Elena even more.

And Elena was afraid of labeling, she was afraid of commitment. She was not so much afraid of it, as much as she was scared of everything falling apart. She was scared of this beautiful thing being taken away from her. Because if she calls it hers, world will know, and if the world knows, the world will want to take it away, because that is something the world does, not only to her, but to everyone.

But love and happiness and need are stronger than any fear, and Elena realized she doesn't mind labeling as much as she thought she would. In the beginning, when Caroline would call her his girlfriend, and she would do it often just to see Elena's reaction, Elena would shudder. But by now, she was used to it, she even liked it.. being called his. Even if that meant the world will know and try its best to take it away. Maybe this time things will be different. Maybe this time the world will close its eyes and pretend not to be jealous of her happiness.

She was afraid of love for such a long time, and Stefan changed all of that. He made her want love. He made her feel loved, and wanted. He saved her, and she did not even realized she wants to be saved. She knew she needs to be saved in order to be happy, but happiness seemed too peculiar too her at one point in her life that salvation was the last thing she wanted.

"Be careful while unbuckling them" - Elena shouted to Stefan from the other side of the car as he was ready to take the babies out of their car seats and place them in their twin pram.

Twins were a month old now, and Stefan and Elena were taking them for their first walk in the park. It wasn't chilly outside at all, as it was a middle of May, but Elena had put 5 layers of clothes on the babies in case they're cold. They could barely move their arms, but there was no way in hell Stefan was be able to convince Elena they're not going to be cold, and that she can take one layer off them, at least. Stefan looked down at his daughters as they patiently waited for him to unbuckle them. Emily was slowly falling asleep, again. Emily slept more than Lara did. Elena said it's because she's that much smaller, so she needs more rest. Lara was trying to kick with her right foot, but the buckle of her car seat, and the amount of clothes Elena had put on her, made her usual jerking that much harder. Then he raised his look to Elena and cocked his eyebrow at her, but her face expression was still tense.

Stefan unbuckled the car seat and took Lara in his hands. She felt heavier to him, probably because of all the clothes she had on her little body. "Do you hear that?" - Stefan smiled at Lara while holding her in his hands. "Mommy thinks I'm going to do something to hurt my precious little baby girl" - he nuzzled his nose against hers, which made her release a sound similar to laughter, something her sister and she did often these past few days.

He raised his look to Elena and saw her smiling at the sight of them. There was no more worry on her face. She looked at them with proud and joy, and if happiness could leak out from her, it would leak out of her eyes and ears.

He had put Lara in the pram, and she fussed a little, probably because she was finally picked up, but held for so little before being put back down again. Stefan had took now already asleep Emily in his arms and placed her on her own spot in the pram. She did not even twitch, unlike her sister, who looked like she's trying to tear off the clothes from her body.

Elena came to his side and enveloped one of her arms around his. He smiled at her and started pushing the pram.

The park looked beautiful. Everything was blossoming. The grass had been cut low, and its color was bright. There were benches on which some elderly couples were sitting, and they were surrounded by tulips. It was around 5 in the afternoon, so it wasn't too hot, but it wasn't cold either. Most of the people were walking around in short sleeved shirts, although Elena had her sweater on.

"I was thinking" - Stefan said as he leaned down to check the twins - "Don't you think you should let your family know you've given birth?" - he turned his head around to look at her.

Her look flew instantly to his face, and the smile from it disappeared. She did not think about her family in a very long time. She missed her brother, but he had a life of his own now, and she always found it inappropriate to barge in and bother him about her life after such a long time. And her aunt, well, she always had a feeling she had let her down. She had a feeling Jenna had expected more of her, and that if she knew Elena had babies out of wedlock, she would look down at her in shame.

"I haven't talked to my family in a very long time" - she said sadly. She had missed them.

Stefan's heart tightened because of the tone of her voice. The last thing he wanted to do was to make her sad. "I know" - he said with a low tone of voice as he nodded his head - "Maybe this would be a great time to start" - he could feel the grip of her hand lessening on his arm. He took a deep breath. "I'd like you to have somebody you can turn to. Someone from your past, someone you know your whole life and who will be able to understand you better than I ever could" - he could have felt her look widening and locking on his face - "Family is important" - he looked down at the twins again, making sure they're fine. Stefan was such a caring person, and even more caring father. He looked back at her and his eyes locked on hers. "No matter how messed up it is" - a small smile curved in the corners of his lips before he leaned his head down and kissed her on the lips, gently.

That was another sign they were a couple, the kisses. Sure, they had their frequent and heated make out sessions, when they had time, mostly after they had put twins to sleep. But now, they were able to, and comfortable with, kissing each other whenever they wanted. Sometimes, he would swing his arms around her waist, pull her closer, and kiss her on the lips as she was simply passing by. Sometimes, he would kiss the top of her head. She would simply be sitting by the table, reading newspapers, and he would lean his lips on her head and kissed her gently. She could feel his lips curving into a smile, and her brain was sending light electricity all over her body, and she would enjoy the feeling his kiss induced. Sometimes she would fall asleep, and wake up with him pulling his fingers through her hair, creating the most melodic song.

'She could carry the world on the palm of her hand,' he often thought, 'if she wanted to.'

Emily opened her eyes in a hurry, and she instantly started fussing. Lara calmed down and looked at her sister, like she was surprised with her behavior. Emily rarely fussed, she was such a calm and patient baby, unlike Lara who seemed to know if she starts protesting, she won't have to wait.

Elena opened the baby bag wide open and frowned after she went over it few times. "Damn, I've left the pacifiers in the car" - she released a loud sigh. Her forgetfulness could have been justified in the beginning because of her tiredness and the lack of sleep she was getting, but now, when Stefan was stepping in even when he didn't have to, there was no excuse she could use.

Stefan smiled at her. He scraped the tip of his fingers against her wrist, the only visible skin of her arm under the sweater, to soothe her. "Stay here, I'm going to get them" - his lips barely touched her cheek, but she felt like someone has leaned a hot pot on the right side of her face, and when she woke up from her trans, she realized he's already few steps away from her.

He had sat on a bench near where they stopped walking, and turned the pram around too soothe Emily down. "Shhh, daddy went to get your pacifier" - she said as she started rubbing Emily's belly through the layers of clothes on her body. The word 'daddy' seemed to do wonders when it came to soothing them. They would stop crying, fussing, screaming, sobbing, whatever they were doing at the moment the word was pronounced, like he's some magical creature that will take all of their sadness and problems away. It's like they already knew daddy can fix everything, or at least they counted on him to do so.

"You have such adorable babies" - she heard a voice coming from above. She was about to raise her head and thank the person for the compliment, but the familiar coldness went through her veins and froze her whole body. She slowly raised her head to look at the face that to her meant fear for such a long time. "Just like their mother" - he said with his signature smirk, that looked more angelic than devilish, but his eyes looked as black as ink. As her eyes locked on his, she jumped on her legs and stood in front of the pram.

Her first thought was that he's going to hurt them. Even though he never did her any physical harm, her instincts were telling her to protect her children. She did not want her daughters to even see his face.

"Relax Elena, I'm not going to hurt them" - he said, still keeping a smirk on his face. Lara started fussing again, and soon Emily had joined her. Nik furrowed his brows. He could never be a parent, he was too impatient, aggressive, and his nerves were the size of a bean.

"Could you calm those brats down?" - he asked angrily.

Elena could not stop thinking about her daughters growing up and meeting someone like Nik. Ending up with someone like Nik. Falling in love with someone like Nik. Going through what she's been through with him. A hot wave washed over her body. She felt sick just by thinking about it. Thinking about someone treating her children like he's been treating her. She could feel her blood boiling in her veins.

"You!" - she heard Stefan's angry voice few steps away from where Nik and she were standing. She slowly turned her head around, her hands gripping around the handle of the pram, and her look locked on Stefan's furious face which was directed to Nik. He made few steps towards them and stood in front of Nik. "What are you doing here?" - he asked through his teeth.

The smirk did not disappear from Nik's face the whole time he was looking at Stefan. "Only stopped by for a visit" - he said calmly.

Stefan's fingers clenched into a fist. He bit his lower lip. He could not believe the attitude on this guy, after everything he did to her. When he was very well aware Stefan knows what he did to her. He was sick just by looking at him. Thinking about how Elena must have felt and everything he had said to her only made him more furious than he already was. He did not want this man near Elena or his daughters.

"Stay away from my family" - Stefan warned him.

Family. Elena's heart started jumping from the word that came out of his mouth. It sounded nice, it sounded meaningful. Were they a family? Stefan apparently thought so. Why wouldn't they be? They were closer to a family than most families are. Some of them are bunch of people living under the same roof.

Even wider smirk appeared on Nik's face.

"Or what?" - ha taunted Stefan.

"Or I'll kill you" - he said coldly.

Elena's body stiffened. She had never seen Stefan so angry, or heard such violent words coming out of his mouth. Is it possible he cares so much about her? Is it possible he feels the exact same way she does?

But Nik did not seem scared. He didn't seem to take Stefan too seriously.

"My, my, is that a threat?" - he asked mockingly, trying to provoke him.

Stefan made one step towards him, and that is when Nik flinched. "No, that's a promise" - he was so close to him Nik could have felt Stefan's breath on his face. "You will leave town right this instant and you will never look back" - that was pure rage in his voice. He would be able to scare a psycho with this tone of voice. And he was scaring a psycho. Nik's smirk disappeared from his face and his hands were slightly trembling, although he tried his best not to show it. "If I ever see you near us, you can't even imagine what will happen to you" - his clenched his teeth.

Nik had a right to be afraid of Stefan. Stefan was much stronger than him, and that was a fact visible from miles away.

"She is not worth it" - Nik said seriously, like he actually believed in it. He probably did. And this time, he wasn't trying to provoke Stefan, he was trying to warn him.

Stefan shook his head. He felt sorry for him. Sorry because this amazing woman was all his, and he did not know how to appreciate it. He probably did not even understand what appreciation is. "She's worth more than anything this world has to offer" - he tried to keep an angry expression on his face, but when it came to Elena, he was not able to do it. A small smile curved in the corners of his lips as he thought of her and everything she's worth.

There was also another reason why Nik had a full right to be afraid of Stefan. He had one more advantage on him, which had nothing to do with his physical strength.

Stefan's love for Elena was much stronger than Nik's hate could ever be.

Nik smiled at Stefan, as if he felt sorry for him, because he loved Elena, like it was his curse, when actually, it was his blessing. He turned around and walked away.

And they have never seen him again.

Stefan slowly moved his look to Elena, and the look on his face was heartbreaking. He looked like as if he had lost something precious. As someone pierced his skin with their bare hands and ripped his insides out. Could it be because he thought she's going to push him away?

No, she wouldn't, not now. Not now when she needed him more than she ever needed anyone.

So before he even had a chance to take action, she ran to him and fell into his arms. She could have sworn she felt his heart drop as she did so. He was relieved. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him.

"No need to worry" - she murmured as she stuffed her face in his shirt - "I want you, I need you, I would never push you away."

**xxxx**

Unlike Elena, Stefan had to go back to work, but he was trying to get home the earliest he could. So Elena was left alone with the twins, which she did not mind most of the times. Sometimes they would have a bad day, and would fuss a lot, but she knew how to handle them.

But as much as she loved her daughters she missed adult conversations with someone who was not Stefan. Even when Stefan and her did talk, it would usually be about the twins. They tried to focus on some other topics, but somehow, their daughters would always find their way back to their conversation.

So after she had put the babies to sleep, she invited Caroline for a cup of coffee, which Caroline gladly accepted. She hadn't seen much of Stefan or Elena this past month, which was completely understandable since they were fresh parents.

"So, how are things with the lover?" - Caroline was curious about their relationship. She was cheering for them for a long time, so she wanted to make sure, now when they have finally gotten together, everything is going smoothly.

Elena handed her a hot cup of coffee and sat on the sofa across her. "Lover?" - she cocked her eyebrow at Caroline.

Caroline's eyes grew wider. "Are you trying to tell me you two never.." - Caroline stopped, implying with her look the end of her sentence.

"Well, I was pregnant.." - Elena eyed her.

"I mean after" - she said annoyed.

Elena took a deep breath, then released it after few seconds. "It's not recommended for women to have sex for at least six weeks after giving birth" - she calculated in her mind how much she has to wait.

"So, two more weeks" - Caroline said happily. For a moment, she asked herself is it weird that she is so invested in her friends sex life.

Elena nodded but turned her look away. "Also.." - she looked at Caroline shyly - "I'm huge."

Caroline kept looking at her before bursting into laughter. "Huge?" - she said a little bit too loud, but then lowered her voice when she remembered the babies are sleeping not so far away from them. "You do not even look like you popped two babies out" - she said.

Elena lifted her shirt a little. "There's a pile of fat around my stomach" - she poked her stomach. She never had fat on her stomach, she was always as thin as a stick.

True, there was a little bit of fat around her, but not too much. It was normal for women who just gave birth.

Caroline waved her hand. "Two visits to the gym will take care of that."

"Well, I really don't have time for the gym" - she chuckled.

Caroline bit her lower lip. "I can always borrow you my home videos" - she smiled. "Look, Stefan would never force you to do something you're not ready to do. But have you seen him? Why would you want to miss a chance to have sex with him?" - Caroline winked at her.

**xxxx**

**Well, it's been a long time since they slept together.**


	18. Unexpected Visit

He kisses her cheek, and her lips tremble, hungry for the same intensity his lips have on the skin of her cheek.

Second time, he barely scrapes his lips against her skin, and she blushes. He notices it, smiles and nuzzles his nose against the skin of her cheek. Her skin is warm and he can feel electricity pulling their bodies closer together. Their skin is prickling while their bodies are colliding.

She can feel him on top of her. There's a damp on the couch where their bodies are settled. That damp is there even when their bodies are not, since this place on the couch is their usual make out spot.

With time, her body readjusted after giving birth. Caroline lend her some of her home exercising videos, and when Stefan had enough time to step in for few hours and when she was rested enough, she would go with Caroline to the gym. She started feeling like her old self, and all of the fat from being pregnant was gone by now. Her gynecologist told her that her body is ready for intercourse, and that now all of it depends on the fact is she emotionally and mentally ready.

Which she wasn't. She wasn't ready two weeks ago, and she's not ready now. She wanted to sleep with him. Partially because of her physical needs, and partially because of the memory she held of their first, and only night they spent together. It was the best physical encounter she ever experienced, but it was one of the emotional highlights of her life too. And he was only a stranger. He was someone she had seen and met for the first time in her life, and he filled her body with such happiness, excitement, thrill, even though she felt nothing for him. So if it felt so amazing when she knew nothing about him and when she felt nothing for him, she often wondered will that feeling increase now when she..

_Now when she loves him._

But she's scared. Of letting him down. Of letting herself down. Of everything falling apart.

He raises his head and his lips fall on her ear. She can feel his hot breath on her face. She shivers. He stars nibbling on her earlobe and a soft moan escapes her lips.

He can feel her chest rising and falling while pressing next to his. She can feel his strong torso on her stomach, his rock hard abs and a wild fire spreads inside of her under the intensity of his body.

As his body fills all of the voids of hers, she thinks how they were made for each other because they complete each other. And the way he makes her feel complements her feelings for him perfectly.

Her eyes are closed, but she can feel his head falling down, because she can feel his exhales everywhere on her face. Once again, he makes her shiver.

His lips fall on her neck and she thinks she's going to die. Everything inside of her is building up, ready to explode. Every emotion, every desire, every wish. She wants him, but she can't have him. He is hers, but then again, he never was, and she fears he never will be. She fears part of him will always belong to someone else and she will never have his heart completely, that she will never truly know him, every part of him.

And he fears the same about her. He fears that she lost a part of herself along the way, and that no matter how hard he tries, he will never be able to fix her, complete here, meet the girl she was before.

But she does not want to be the girl she was before, even if she were able to find her and retrieve her if it was able to reach in your own past. She wanted to be better, she wanted to be his. She wanted to be a woman loved by him and a woman that loves him, and nothing else mattered.

He gently bites her neck and she bends her body into his direction. It was erotic and sexy and unexpected and she moaned into his ear.

His hand had slid under her shirt and he cupped one of her breasts with the palm of his hand. She can feel him getting hard while he's pressing next to her. He's aroused, and so is she, although she's a lot better at hiding it.

_No_, she thinks. Not now, not like this. "Stefan" she murmurs while putting her hands on his chest and pushing him away. He's so strong that she barely manages to push him away only a little bit, because he puts too much effort into keeping his body close to hers. But in the end, he listens to her, even though he doesn't want to. He falls from her on the spot on the couch next to her and looks at her curiously. "We haven't discussed" she raises her look to him "sex" she whispers like they're trapped in an 18th century and the word is still a taboo.

He doesn't know what to say. He was not aware they're supposed to discuss it.

"I want to" she turns her look again because she has a feeling if she keeps looking him in the eyes she will explode from blushing "sleep with you" she continues with a shaky voice.

He puts his hand on the top of hers. That encourages her and she looks at his face. He smiles at her. "It's okay" he says, letting her know that he understands her "I do not mind waiting."

She knows he does. He's a guy, a human being, he has physical needs, and if he feels the same way she feels, of course he minds. But he would never admit it. He's too much of a gentleman do admit it.

"I want it to be.." she stops, trying to find a word that would explain how she wants it to be. Mindblowing? Earth shattering? Erratic? Exotic? Loving?

"Perfect" the word escapes his lips, and instills in her mind. Yes. Perfect. Perfect is a perfect word to perfectly describe her thoughts. Wishes. Desires. Perfect.

She gently smiles at him, and her smile is so soft, so vulnerable, he has a feeling if someone shakes her it will fall from her face like a picture would fall from a wall during an earthquake.

He leans in and kisses her lips, feeling a smile on her lips, trying to engulf it, remember it, save it. So when it's not on her face, he can imagine it.

There's a knock on the door. Stefan and Elena look at each other confused. Caroline never knocks, Lexi always calls before stopping by. Maybe it's Damon, or Bonnie, or both. But if it were them, they would hear Rose's voice in front of their door.

Elena jumps on her feet and hurries towards the door. She opens them and her jaw drops.

"Tyler" she says at the tall, well built, dark haired man in front of her. He has a smile on his face and Elena stands in front of him like a statue. Stefan jumps on his feet because he remembers what happened the last time a familiar stranger showed up in front of their door.

But this time Elena gets on her toes, swings her hands and throws them around the man's neck. He catches her and puts his hands on her back, hugging her tightly.

Stefan is jealous of this man because he's obviously part of her past, part of her Stefan will never know. And a selfish side of him wants all of her.

"Come in, come in" - Elena says as she gets on her feet. She takes the man by his wrist and drags him inside.

Tyler is one of her friends back from LA. The only one who actually believed her when it came to Nik. She felt guilty when she fled town without giving him an explanation, so after some time she actually sent him an e-mail, praying his old address is still in function. Luckily for her, Tyler was not one to hold a grudge.

"How did you find out my address?" she asks curiously, for a moment forgetting Stefan is in the room. She never told him where she lives. And he never said he will be coming for a visit.

"One of the perks of living in a small town, I guess. Everyone are so friendly and easy going, that giving a piece of information such as an address is not a big deal" Tyler explains to her while glancing at Stefan over her shoulder.

Which is when Elena remembers Stefan is in the room as well. She told Tyler she got pregnant. And she told him the father is involved in their lives. But she never told him they're in a relationship or that she fell in love with him.

She only confessed that to herself recently.

Elena turns her head around a little, enough to catch Stefan's confused look. "Tyler, this is Stefan, my" she stops herself in the middle of the sentence, not sure about how to introduce Stefan to her friend "boyfriend" she finally finds the right word. Stefan's eyes lit up when he hears the word, and she smiles at him. "Stefan, this is Tyler, my friend from LA" - she steps aside when Stefan starts walking into their direction to greet Tyler.

He stretches out his hand and says "Pleasure" glad he finally met one of the people from Elena's life.

Tyler eyes him, but in the end takes his hand and shakes it, responding with "Pleasure is all mine."

Tyler is suspicious of Stefan, even though Elena never said anything against him. She told him only good things about Stefan, which worried him, because it was the same with Nik in the beginning. But he did not want to doubt Elena or meddle in her love life.

Stefan seemed like a decent guy and by the look of his apartment, he was very well taken care of. Elena was happy, so happy that her eyes were smiling alongside with the every line of her face.

As Elena was ready to start a conversation, Caroline had burst into the apartment. She had swung the front door open angrily, throwing her bag on the kitchen counter while closing the door with her foot, greeting them silently without even looking at them and taking a cookie from the plate.

She took a bite of a cookie and inhaled deeply. "I had a worst day ever" she turned around and saw Stefan and Elena looking at her confused, and a new fresh face standing next to them. He was tall. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Muscles. Probably tastier than the cookie in her hand. "Which just got a lot better" she cocked her eyebrow at Tyler who was looking at her in awe.

By the look on his face, Elena knew Tyler was smitten by the perky blonde standing in front of him. He always had a thing for blondes, and everyone had a thing for Caroline. She was a crowd pleaser.

"Tyler, this is Caroline" Elena said through a low chuckle. Tyler was not able to move his look away from Caroline. "Caroline, this is Tyler, my friend from LA" she almost said from back home, but this is her home now. More of a home than LA ever was, although she thought she will stay there forever.

Caroline smiled widely and greeted him cheerfully before her eyes started wandering all over his strong, muscly torso. "Are you wearing Diego" she suddenly frowned at the sight of him.

Tyler was utterly confused, but Stefan released a low chuckle.

"Excuse me?" Tyler asked, raising his eyebrow at Caroline.

Caroline hurried to him and checked the label on the back of his shirt. "You are wearing Diego" she screamed out of frustration "Take it off" she whined like a little child, leaving Tyler completely confused. He had no idea who this little, mood swinging creature in front of him was or what wearing a Diego means.

"You'll have to excuse my friend" Stefan finally stepped in after having a good laugh "To make things clearer, Caroline is a fashion designer. Diego is her men line" Caroline shot him a deadly stare "Was her men line" he corrected himself, which seemed to satisfy Caroline.

Tyler nodded in understanding, but he still had a half confused, half scared look on his face.

"How long are you in town for" Elena asks before Caroline has a chance to throw another hissy fit.

Tyler transfers his look to Elena before responding "For a couple of days. I have some work to take care of here. I'm staying in a hotel ten minutes away from here" he explains with a smile on his face. He had missed Elena.

"You're always welcome to stay with us" Stefan says, trying to make Tyler comfortable. Any Elena's friend is a friend of his too.

"There's a lot of room in my apartment too. The other side of my bed is completely empty" Tyler moved his look to Caroline and she winked at him.

Elena's eyes grew wider.

"Caroline can be a little bit too forward. She's only joking" Stefan tried to explain Caroline's behavior to Tyler who was a stranger to all of them but Elena.

"No I'm not" she said seriously which only made Tyler laugh. He liked her forwardness, maybe more than he would prefer.

He raised his arm and looked at the watch on his wrist and furrowed his brows.

"I have a meeting in half of hour" he kept frowning at the watch wrapped around his wrist "But I hope we'll be able to see each other later" he raised his look to Elena.

"Sure, you can come for dinner, Stefan is an A class cook" she informed Tyler while bumping her shoulder into Stefan's. Stefan had put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him, kissing the side of her temple.

He seemed too gentle to end up like Nik, Tyler thought. Nik always had that mean streak, even though no one but him was able to see it from the start, not even Elena. If she could, her life would be completely different now, and Tyler did not know would she want that. He wondered would she ever exchange her present happiness for life of no pain.

"Sure" he smiles widely, but his look falls instantly on Caroline "I hope I'll be seeing you too" he winks at her, giving her back with the same measure.

Caroline was stunned and not table to form any words, so she nodded excitedly.

"Lovely" was all that Tyler said before saying his goodbyes and disappearing behind the front door.

"I like him" Caroline said as Tyler closed the door behind him.

"Somehow, we've managed to grasp that" - Stefan chuckled.

**xxxx**

**Will Elena be held back to have sex with Stefan for a long time? Will there be something between Tyler and Caroline?**


	19. Long Time, No See

"So" - Caroline said with soothing, but 'I-need-something', tone of voice while rocking Lara in her arms. This afternoon, she went to the town to buy something new and appropriate for the dinner Stefan and Elena are hosting for Tyler. When she was heading out of her favorite store with couple of bags in her hand which contained few possible outfits, across the street she noticed cutest baby dresses in the shop window. She never even noticed baby stores around the town before, and now they seemed to pop up in every corner. She bought two matching dresses for the girls and insisted they wear them tonight. Elena dressed Lara in no time, but Stefan was still having problems with putting a dress on Emily. Elena raised her look from the oven, in which were mini pizzas Stefan prepared, and Elena was supposed to keep an eye on them. "For how long do you know Tyler?" - Caroline asked while trying to pull her finger out of Lara's hand to fix her crumbled dress.

"Oh, since High School, but we weren't really friends then, only acquaintances. We became friends in college. We bumped into each other after a week, and since we were alone in the new town, we started hanging out" - Elena explained. She came closer to Lara and pulled her fingers over her head, messing up the little bundle of light brown hair she had on her head. She tried to take Lara out of Caroline's hands few times already, but Caroline wouldn't let her.

"I see" - she said while frowning at Elena, when she noticed she's trying to take the baby out of her arms again. So Elena chuckled and backed away. Caroline managed to pull her finger out of Lara's hands, which made her fuss, so Caroline straightened her dress in a hurry and placed her finger back in Lara's hands. Just as she did so, Lara jerked her leg and messed the dress up again. Caroline huffed, and Elena laughed lightly. "And how is he?" - Caroline raised her look and locked her eyes on Elena's face.

"Look Emily, auntie Caroline is trying to catch one more helpless fish in her net" - Stefan entered the room early enough to catch up on about who the two of them are talking about. Caroline turned her head to him and stuck her tongue out before turning her head back to Elena. Stefan chuckled lightly before lowering his look down at the smiling baby. "What are you smiling about?" - he said gently as he had put the palm of his hand on her belly and started cuddling her. She was clearly enjoying it since her smile was becoming wider and wider every second until it finally turned into a low, silent moan that resembled a laugh, which was the closets thing to a laugh she could do at this age.

Upon hearing her sisters voice, Lara reacted by jerking her legs in Caroline's arms. Stefan sat on the chair next to Caroline so the babies can be near each other, but Emily did not like the idea of them sitting, so she started fussing into Stefan's arms. He pouted at her, trying to calm her down, but since this little human in his arms was one of his three week spots, he stood up and started walking around the room, cradling her slowly in his arms.

_He's going to spoil them_, Elena often thought as she watched him with their daughters.

And both of them knew that was a fact.

"I don't think he's your type" - Elena said as she sat on the chair across Caroline when she accepted the fact neither Stefan or Caroline will give her one of the babies to hold.

Caroline raised her head to look at Elena and cocked her eyebrow at her. "And what is my type?" - she asked curiously with a cocked eyebrow and a mischievous smirk on her lips.

Elena's face expression became serious out of worry she offended Caroline, but deep down she knew Caroline doesn't get offended that easily and that she's probably overreacting, so she decided to keep calm. "Well, you know, he's not a kind of a guy who would elope to a deserted island and have sex on the beach 24/7" - Elena said cautiously, awaiting Caroline's reaction.

The lines of Caroline's face softened and she giggled, putting her hand over her mouth to suppress the sound of her voice. When the giggling stopped she removed her hand from her mouth and raised her eyebrow. "After they meet me, every guy is that kind of a guy" - Caroline said in vain. Sometimes, when it came to Caroline, it was hard to spot the difference between her being vain and her being confident, especially for people who knew nothing about her.

"First of all" - Stefan said with a harsh tone of voice, which made both Caroline and Elena look at him. It was a strange sight, seeing Stefan, so big, tall and muscular, with a small baby in pink dress in his arms. But as much as it was strange, it felt right, like he was made for this. To be a father. Not only anyone's father, but father of these two girls. Caroline was convinced some other child would never look as good on him as his own children do. He raised his free hand to his mouth and put his index finger in front of his lips - "No s-e-x talk in front of the babies" - he said protectively, "And secondly, eww" - he made a grossed face expression at the thought of Caroline having sex.

Caroline smiled and raised her eyebrow at him. "Like you don't know I'm having" - her look fell on the baby in his arms - "s-e-x" - she spelled it, feeling silly for doing so.

"Well, I'd rather not be reminded of the fact the person who is like a sister to me is having s-e-x" - he said, realizing how stupid this word being spelled sounds.

Caroline took a deep sigh. "You know how to warm a girls heart, Salvatore" - she said warmly, but in the matter of seconds her face adapted that naughty, 'I'm-up-to-something', expression. "But be careful, in few years I'll be teaching your girls all of my tricks" - she moved her look from Stefan to Lara, who was curiously looking at her, and Caroline poked her tummy which made he smile. "Isn't that right? Isn't that right?" - she said with a silly voice - "Auntie Caroline will teach you everything you need to know" - she kept playing with Lara's tummy.

Stefan cringed at the thought of Caroline teaching his daughters about boys. His face was flushed, and he swallowed hard. "Outrageous. You have the worst taste in men" - he said seriously.

Caroline raised her head and furrowed her brows. "Which would explain my crush on you when we were kids. Maybe you started the whole thing" - she snapped at him, clearly offended.

Elena was silently chuckling at what was going on in front of her. She could imagine Stefan as quite a charmer when they were younger, with the warm lines of his face, trustworthy green eyes and a smile to die for. And she could see why would little Caroline fall for him.

Stefan grinned at her. "Every rule has its exception" - he winked at her as she rolled her eyes at him.

"Anyway, he said he will only be staying for few days" - Elena finally said, reminding them she's still in the room.

Caroline looked at her. "Which is why I thought I could give him a tour. All the way around and then in the center.. of my bed, that is" - she winked suggestively at Elena who released a light chuckle at Caroline's silliness. She wondered would Caroline really take Tyler to bed, or was she only strong on the words. From Stefan's talk, she's strong on her actions too, but Elena very well knew how a woman's brain works when they really like someone.

"Do you ever think that's the problem?" - Stefan asked curiously - "The fact you put out on the first date?" - he furrowed his brows, going through Caroline's track record of guys she was with.

"Well Elena did so, and look how great it turned out for her" - Caroline said without thinking, and Stefan's look flew to Elena who was, when Caroline turned her head around, looking down, but clearly blushing.

Caroline bit her lower lip out of fear she has offended her. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She never thinks before opening her mouth.

"Sorry, is it still too early to joke about?" - she asked with a certain amount of guilt in her voice.

Elena raised her head, and now, Caroline could clearly see wine red blush on her cheeks, but a light half smile on her lips. "No" - she shook her head - "Sometimes I forget how it all started, is all" - she furrowed her brows a little. "And technically, we were never on a date" - she raised her eyebrow at Stefan.

But before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door. Elena, since she was the only one empty handed, got up from the chair to open the door. Behind them was Tyler with a smile on his face. Elena, once again, like she hasn't done the same thing few hours ago, got on the tip of her toes and flung her arms around his neck. He had put his hands on her back, and once again, pulled her into a hug.

"Come in" - she said happily as she had let go off him and stood on her own two feet. "I want you to meet someone" - she hurried over to Caroline and took the baby out of her arms, but this time, Caroline did not protest. She walked over to Tyler who just stepped in and closed the door behind him. "This is Lara" - Elena stood in front of him so he can see her clearly.

As Tyler laid his eyes on her, she stretched out and yawned. She looked at them with half closed eyes for few seconds, before closing them completely and making herself comfortable in her mother's arms.

"Elena, she's beautiful" - Tyler said gently while looking at the child in his friends arms.

"And this is Emily" - Stefan approached them so Tyler can see the other baby too.

Unlike her sister, Emily was wide awake, which did not particularly made Elena happy. Her eyes were locked on Tyler, and she had a curious look on her face.

"She looks exactly like you, Elena" - Tyler said while caressing Emily's cheek with his index finger.

Elena frowned. "Why do everyone keep saying that? They're identical."

Tyler smiled lightly, his eyes still locked on Emily's face, who's eyes were wandering curiously over him. "It's her eyes. She has the same amount of fragile strength in them as you."

**xxxx**

The four of them spent a pleasant evening together. To Elena's surprise, Emily fell asleep not long after her sister, so they had put them in their cribs, and did not hear from either of them for the rest of the night. Now, Elena was aware soon both of them will need to be fed.

Tyler told her everything about how things are back in LA, and how everyone are doing. She told him about Nik finding her, and how Stefan took care of it, and Tyler discovered a new found respect for Stefan.

Tyler and Caroline left their apartment at the same time, and Caroline winked at Elena significantly, which made Elena laugh. She knew, even if Caroline was ready to sleep with him, Tyler wasn't ready to do the same.

Stefan was exhausted, so he crashed as soon as they closed the door behind Caroline and Tyler. Elena promised she will come to bed soon.

She sat on the sofa and took the phone in her hand. She bit her lower lip before dialing a number and pressing the phone next to her ear.

"Yes?" - the sleepy voice on the other side said.

Elena's eyes instantly filled with tears. Just hearing her voice broke Elena's heart into million little pieces.

"Aunt Jenna?" - she asked with a husky voice.

"Elena?" - her voice rose up out of surprise.

Elena swallowed hard. Her aunt should not be so surprised for hearing her voice.

"Yes, it's me" - she said silently.

"Has.. has something happened?" - she asked worried, but Elena could hear that she's already crying.

"Yes" - Elena said without thinking, but then she realized her aunt might think she has bad news - "Nothing bad, though" - but something bad did happen to her, and her aunt knows nothing about it - "A lot has happened."

As she said so, she raised her head and saw Stefan standing in front of her. He had a curious expression on his face, but as his eyes locked with hers, it's like he knew. It's like he knew what kind of pain could cause such heartbreak behind her eyes. So he, without saying anything, sat on the sofa, next to her, and put his arm around her. She raised her legs on the couch, and leaned onto his chest, crumbling his shirt with her free hand. Tears started falling down her face and soaked the fabric of Stefan's shirt.

"Yes, a lot of time has passed" - she felt the heaviness of Jenna's voice on her chest - "Too long."

"There's something I have to tell you" - Elena said as she held on to Stefan.

She was strong. She had to be strong. She learned how to be strong. She learned how to take care of herself and how to do certain things alone.

But there are things she shouldn't be doing alone. Things she doesn't have to do alone, because she has someone to lean on, both metaphorically and literally.

_Asking for help does not make you weak_, he told her once, _refusing to ask for it when you need it does_.

And she needed him. With time, she would do fine by herself, but she didn't want to, because she doesn't have to.

Jenna was patiently waiting.

"I.." - Elena started talking, feeling Stefan's grip around her - "I gave birth" - she bit her lower lip to stop herself from screaming. If Stefan wasn't there, she would probably pierce it with her teeth.

There was a silence on the other side. If she did not hear her aunt breathing, which was steady and low, Elena would think she has hung up.

"What?" - she sounded more curious and surprised than mad or disappointed.

Elena bit her lower lip harder and pressed herself closer to Stefan. He kissed her temple and pulled his fingers through her hair.

"To twins. Two girls. And they're beautiful" - Elena said, trying to hold her tears back.

"Can I.. Can I see you? I'm sure your brother would want to see you too" - Jenna said.

Elena nodded her head, rubbing it against Stefan's chest. "Yes" - she basically screamed out of excitement - "Is your mail still functioning. I will send you my address there" - she jumped of Stefan's chest into a sitting position.

"Yes, that would be fine" - Jenna said through a light laugh. "I guess I'll be seeing you soon then."

"Yeah" - Elena nodded, like her aunt can see her. "Aunt Jenna?"

"Yes?"

"I've missed you."

**xxxx**

**A/N: So, Elena finally contacted her family. How do you think they will react when they come to Mystic Falls?**


	20. Future Past

Elena was sitting on the living room couch, nervously tapping with her foot on the ground. She could have felt the depth in the soft leather of the couch, depth her and Stefan made. She could have felt the warmth of it, and the shape of her back as she leaned down on the back of the couch.

_"I was full of depths"_ - Stefan told her once while kissing the sensitive spots of her neck - _"I tried to ignore them, to walk over them, to bury them, but no matter how hard I tried, they were always there"_ - he moved her silky vanilla scent chestnut hair from her shoulders so he can have a better view of her swan like neck on which his lips landed so sweetly - _"And then you came around"_ - his hands travel to her back, his fingers following the line of her spine - _"Accidentally, on purpose, by faith or by coincidence, you filled me"_ - she releases a silent moan, and she doesn't is it because his lips were made for her skin, or because his words were there for only her to hear, or a little bit of both - _"You complete me"_ - he pulled his finger over her collar bone, feeling her fragile bones under her skin, and he wonders how can someone so weak be so strong - _"And you gave me these two beautiful girls. We created them. Someone who has a little bit of me and you in themselves. Two copies"_ - he makes her smile - _"And I.."_ - he starts, _love you so much_ almost slipping out of his mouth, but he decides to savor it for another occasion - _"Feel so blessed to have you in my life"_ - he says instead as his lips travel to hers, and from that moment on, no words at all are needed.

Elena looks at her daughters, sleeping on the couch, close to each other, wrapped in their matching yellow, fuzzy blankets. When she was younger, all of the babies seemed the same to her. Like little, crumbly potatoes. So when she found out she's carrying twins, she was afraid she will not know how to make a difference between them. But she knows. A mother always does. As much as they're alike, they're also different. In little things. While sleeping, Lara always has her fingers clenched into a fist, and Emily's palms are open, her hands usually above her head. Lara is loud, and when she smiles, she has a mischievous look on her face, like she's planning something, but Emily looks so much like a doll, with a half smile frozen on her face.

Stefan sat on the couch next to her, putting his hand on her knee to calm her leg down.

"Everything is going to be okay" - he said as one of his earth shattering, breathtaking, you-stole-my-much-needed-air-supply kisses landed on the corner of her lips.

She turns her head around, looking worried, even though there's a hint of a smile on her face. "But what if it's not okay?" - she asks with a shaky voice.

The corners of his lips turn into a smile, and he shakes his head lightly. "It will be" - he caresses her cheek with his thumb. She closes her eyes and leans her head closer to his hand, until his palm is wide open and her head is resting on it. Her body is stiff, he can feel it, even though her body is not pressing next to his. He can feel her energy. He can always feel her. When she's about to walk into the room, when he's about to walk into the room she's in. He can feel her even when he can't see her. Sometimes he's walking down the halls of a hospital, her face pops into his mind, and he can feel her close near him.

No matter how far she is, she is always with him.

"If not, you can always blame it on me" - he says to make her loosen up, and he succeeds - she laughs. She thinks about his tempting offer, but after only few seconds of pondering, she disregards it. She could never blame him for anything except for making her happier than she's been in a long while. "I can play a villain" - he says through laughter, and his laugh makes her laugh.

She raises her head and opens her eyes before cocking her eyebrow at him. "You?" - she says like she can't even imagine it, and she can't. She puts one of her legs on his other side and sits on his lips. He can feel her buttocks on his kneecaps, and before she knows it he straightens himself up and his hands are wandering all over her waist and above her butt. She smiles as she leans her lips on his forehead, leaving a print of her smile on his skin. "You could never pass by as bad" - she throws her arms around his neck and starts playing with the hem of his shirt on the back.

"Oh, I can be bad when I want to" - he comments seductively, and she rolls her eyes because she knows what he's suggesting. "Really bad" - his lips fall on her neck, which flames up her imagination, her thoughts wandering to the place she knows she should not be visiting at the moment, and asks herself how bad can he really be. She knows him as a man who flared her feelings up and helped her stand on her own two feet, but she knows there's more to him. He has the body of a Greek god, and his abs feel like a cold stone under her fingertips. He holds fire in his fingers, or his fingers ignite fire on her skin, she's not sure which. And she could not ignore the fact that he has gotten her wet so many times during their make out sessions. He would make her shake and and burn until there's nothing left, and all of that was caused only by his touch and the proximity of his body near hers, so she concluded Stefan Salvatore is probably a really bad boy, when he wants to be.

She cups his face and lifts it up to the same height of hers and presses her lips next to his. She clings on to him, feeling like she will fall and crash if she lets go, and for few minutes they make out on their usual place on the couch. And then they hear fussing. Near, loud, annoying fussing. They detach their lips from each other and look down at frowning Lara. Her light, barely visible brows are furrowed on her clean, smooth face, and she's jerking her legs while clenching her fingers in a fist. Elena presses the side of her face next to Stefan's, with her hands still on the back of his neck, and smiles.

"I think she's jealous" - Elena says as she looks down at the fussy baby. Lara interrupted two or three of their make out sessions already. Stefan places his hands on Elena's hips, lifts her up and places her on the couch next to him. He moves closer to Lara and picks her up in his arms.

"She's only looking out for me" - he says with a silly baby voice while removing the blanket that fell on her face. He plants one small kiss on her little, red cheek, and she puts her hand on his face, trying to cling on to him. "But she will have to realize mommy is not hurting daddy" - he continues talking with a baby voice, and Lara smiles at him.

Elena wonders will her and Stefan be one of those parents who play a good cop and a bad cop, and she wondered does Stefan has what is needed to play a bad cop when the time comes, or will she have to play one forever.

Her train of thoughts is stopped by a loud knock on the front door. Elena looks up at Stefan with fear in her eyes, and he looks back at her encouragingly. Elena sent her new address to Jenna, and now, two weeks later, her and Jeremy are coming to visit. She even said Stefan can pick them up at the airport, but Jenna said they will manage by themselves, and it seems as they did. Stefan said, after her aunt and brother see the babies, he will take them for a walk so she can have some time alone with her family.

Elena stood up from the couch and went to the front door. She stopped herself in front of them, straightened her crumbled shirt from earlier events with Stefan, and inhaled deeply before opening the door.

And there they were, standing in front of her apartment, with eyes wide open and locked on her face. They look the same they did the last time she had seen them. Well, Jeremy does look a little bit older, more serious. But he still has that boyish haircut and a curious look in his chestnut eyes, eyes he shares with his sister. And her aunt still looked the same, not a day older than when Elena last saw her on her parents funeral.

They keep staring at each other, and neither of them know what to say. Elena is washed over by guilt, and regret, and wishful thoughts, and her eyes keep wandering from her aunt to her brother. Jenna is on the verge of tears, same as Elena, but Jeremy has a hard look on his face. Like he's angry. He always did that, pretended he's mad when he's about to cry. He was never the one to show his emotions, but Elena always knew the truth behind that icy stare.

"Elena" - Jenna finally says before making a step forward and pulling her niece into her hug. Elena could smell her lavender shampoo in her hair. She still uses it. She wraps her arms around her aunt and buries her face in the hem of her shirt. And tears start falling out of her eyes, down her cheek, over he lips, on the fabric of her aunts shirt. She feels like a great burden has been lifted from her chest, like she can finally breathe now.

Jenna takes her by the shoulders and pushes her away, looking at her crying face, those beautiful, big, brown eyes she had inherited from her mother, same as that half smile that could make angels jealous. Her eyes wander over Elena's slim figure, smooth skin, and soft, silky hair tied into a ponytail, and concludes she's happy. She gives her that you-look-good look, and Elena's smile widens.

Then her look falls on Jeremy. When he sees his sisters half smiling, but teared up face, his hard shield drops, and what he's feeling is all over his face. He looks like he's going to cry, so Elena makes a step forward and puts her arms around him. He has gotten stronger since the last time she had seen him. He puts his arms around her too, and she feels the familiar safety, childhood memories washing over her.

When he lets go of her, she seems happy, and so does he.

"Come in" - she smiles lightly, looking over her shoulder - "There's someone I want you to meet."

**xxxx**

When Jenna and Jeremy saw the twins, met them, cuddled them, and after Lara puked all over Jeremy's shirt, Stefan, like he had promised, had put them in their pram and took them for a walk. Elena told Jeremy not to worry, that Lara pukes over everyone she likes, so Jenna was sad she did not puke over her too.

Jenna was warm while meeting Stefan, but Jeremy was cold and suspicious. He did not say anything, or showed it much, but Elena knew him well. Maybe he felt that's his brotherly duty.

"I guess we should talk" - Elena said after she sat down on the couch after helping Stefan getting the twins ready for a walk. They work faster in pair. And better.

She looked from her aunt to her brother, waiting for them to wash her over with questions. And they wanted, they had so much questions prepared, but now, when the time came, their mouth was dry.

"How long have you and Stefan been married?" - Jenna finally asks.

Elena lowers her look because she's afraid it will betray her. She's afraid to tell her aunt she's living with a man and has children out of wedlock. Jenna is a traditional woman, just like her mother was. She would not disown her over the newspapers, but Elena could not bare the look in Jenna's eyes, like she did something wrong. Because nothing about her life is wrong.

Which is why she can't hide the truth from her family. Hiding the truth would mean she's ashamed. Ashamed of her daughters, of what she has with Stefan. And she's not. No matter how this started or what happened to her before, keeping the babies, accepting Stefan in her life, is the best choice she ever made.

"We're not married" - she says, looking her aunt in the eyes.

There's a surprised look on Jenna's face. "Oh" - is all she says, before adding - "How long have you been dating then?"

This is going to be harder than she thought, so she inhales deeply. "We're not dating" - but she remembers they kinda are, so she corrects herself - "We weren't dating."

"I do not understand.." - Jenna says confused.

Elena keeps looking her in the eyes, but she's unable to find the words to tell her aunt what has happened.

"What she's trying to say" - Jeremy says, and Elena's look falls on him. She tries to detect a certain emotion on his face, but this time, he's like a blank page. "She had a one night stand, and accidentally, she got pregnant" - Jeremy locked his eyes on Elena's, but she could not take the intensity of his look, so she lowered hers down.

There was a silence in the room for few minutes, since no one know what to say.

"How did you end up in Mystic Fall, anyways?" - Jeremy was the one to break the unbearable silence.

Elena now raised her look up and looked from her brother, over to her aunt. She has to tell them everything. She has to think about it, again. She has to go through it, again. Serves her right, she should have told them ages ago.

"Do you remember Nik?" - she asked, hate flaring in her eyes. Jenna had noticed that and swallowed hard, and Jeremy bit his lower lip, almost causing it to bleed.

"Your boyfriend from college" - Jenna stated, and Elena nodded her head - "Yes" - Jenna replied in confirmation. She remembers him. She did not know much about him, since Elena broke contact with them so early in their relationship.

"I know I should have told you all this sooner, but I.." - tears started pouring down her cheek, and Jenna could guess what she's talking about from the moment she mentioned his name, so she had put her palm over her mouth - "I was so ashamed" - she tried to clean her face with the palm of her hand. "He was so nice to me, so supportive, so loving. I was so in love with him" - she transferred her look to Jeremy who was looking at her in surprise, anger and compassion and hurt and hate obvious in his eyes. "And then, it all fell apart. He became so.. mean" - Elena choked on her own words.

"Did he abuse you?" - Jeremy asked openly, and Elena's throat has gotten tighter.

"Not physically" - she said. Most people disregard emotional abuse, but the truth is, it can be as bad as physical abuse. It can be even worse. Sometimes, one word can make you feel like all the bones in your body are being broken. You heal, and then break again, and it's a vicious circle.

Jeremy stood on his feet and clenched his fists. "I will find him, and I will kill him" - he said through his teeth, and Elena shivered, afraid her brother would actually be capable of such a thing, for her.

"No" - she said loudly, shaking her head - "He's gone and he's never coming back."

"How do you know?" - Jeremy asked, full of anger, but tears were grouping in the corners of his eyes.

"Because he found me, after I moved here, and Stefan took care of it" - the corners of her lips curved into a smile as she said Stefan's name.

Jenna had noticed that. "Tell me more about Stefan" - she insisted, surprising Jeremy for not commenting on the previous topic, and for jumping to the other one so quickly.

Elena had a wide smile on her face now, and her eyes were smiling alongside her lips. "When I met him, I was so.. broken. It was my first day here, and I wanted to get lost. And then I saw him, and he looked as broken as me, if not more. And when I was with him, even if it was for just one night" - she lowered her look down, blushing, when she realized she's telling her brother and her aunt about her sexual experience, but she needed them to understand. She needed them to realize Stefan is not like the others, Stefan is not like anyone she has ever met. "He made me feel something. And somewhere along the way, we fixed each other. He's amazing, and loving, and he's such a good father. Sometimes I think he's better at this parenting thing than I am" - she laughed lightly - "And I.." - she started, not sure should she finish her sentence with words she hasn't said out loud to Stefan yet.

"And you love him" - Jenna finished the sentence for her, making Elena look at her with an expressionless look on her face. So she transferred her look at Jeremy who was looking at her confused.

"Elena?" - he demanded an answer.

Elena nodded her head. Her throat was too tight and her mouth was too dry to say anything.

How could she not love him? The father of her children, the man who saved her in all possible ways a person can be saved.

"Why did you not call, Elena?" - Jenna asked with a husky voice.

Elena sniffled and few more tears ran down her cheek before she took a deep inhale. "I wanted to. In the beginning, when they died, I did not want to talk to anyone, especially not to the people who reminded me the most of them. And when I did.. I thought it's too late."

Jenna shook her head. "It's never too late for family."

**xxxx**

**A/N: Just wanted to remind you this is an M rated fan fiction, which means adult content. I had put an M rating, knowing once I write their sex scene, when their relationship develops, I will want to do it vividly, since they're two grown ups with intense feelings for each other. So I'm warning you, once you see they're about to have sex, there will be adult content.**


	21. How Much Do You Really Love Her

"Why won't she puke on me? Doesn't she like me?" - Jenna whined while holding a confused Lara up in the air. Lara had a confused expression on her face, her little light brows furrowing, not quite sure what Jenna wants from her.

Jenna and Jeremy were able to stay in the town for a week. They probably spent every waking moment of every day with Elena, because Stefan had barely seen her during these seven days. Or his daughters, for that matter. He would usually be in charge of them when they woke up in the middle of the night, screaming, because they're unable to put themselves back to sleep.

And the only time he would see Elena is when she would crawl in the bed next to him, her body bending next to his. This is how they fell asleep every night since she moved into his bedroom. After only few days of sleeping in the same bed as her, he could not imagine ever sleeping without her in the same bed again.

Elena would never agree to make out sessions on the bed, she was afraid they would go too far, so she insisted on keeping them on the couch.

Few days ago, he was lying in bed, checking out his mail. Few pictures of Rose from Damon, Caroline's detailed description of how she spent her day, and few mails from work he was more than happy to skip when he saw Elena coming out from the bathroom. She was dressed into.. well, she wasn't dressed. All she had on her body was a pink transparent bra covered in black lace at certain places with matching panties. Only when she walked over to the other side and opened the closet was when he noticed she's wearing a thong. He turned off his laptop as he stared at her smooth skin as she bent down to get something from the closet. He wanted to melt into her. He had a need of pulling the tips of his fingers all over her skin. He wanted to kiss her, to fondle her curves, to squeeze her thighs. He wanted to have her. He closed his laptop and it's thump on the bedside table on which Stefan had laid it down was a little bit too loud. It made Elena straighten her body and turn around with a black oversized shirt in her hands. A playful smirk appeared on her face as she cocked her eyebrow at him. _"See something you like, Mr. Salvatore?"_ - she asked teasingly. He was too overwhelmed to even try to act like he's not taken back by her current appearance. He cleared his throat through a cough, and she giggled. Somehow he managed to gain his posture and smiled - _"Oh yes." _She had put the shirt on and it slid over her body, reaching her thighs. She jumped on the bed, got herself under the covers, and crawled next to Stefan. She had put her head on his chest, and he had put his hand around her, pulling his fingers through her hair. Her breathing lowered and her body relaxed on his. He could have felt her slow heartbeat, and that's when he realized she fell asleep. He kissed the top of her head and turned the lights off. And they melted into each other.

Elena smiles at her aunt while taking a confused baby in her arms. "Of course she likes you" - Elena pokes Lara's nose with her index finger - "Don't you, sweetie?" - she says with a silly, baby voice and Lara laughs. It's the sweetest sound anyone in the room has ever heard. As everyone smile at the fact she's laughing, Lara laughs louder. She loves being in the center of attention, there's no question about it.

But her sister is calm in Lexi's arms, satisfied by being held. Emily was never as loud as Lara. She often smiled, but she rarely laughed. She was always so quiet, so patient. Sometimes that would worry Elena, especially when she was only few days old. She would go by to her crib just to check is she breathing. Caroline was sitting next to Elena, trying to play with Lara, but she continued eyeing Tyler, who was talking to Jeremy, from a safe distance.

Stefan was in the kitchen, preparing coffee. He felt like he doesn't fit in the crowd, like he's an odd man there, a black sheep. He was much comfortable with watching everyone from the distance.

He wanted to be there, by Elena's side. He wanted to be there every time she smiles and laughs and every time her eyes glisten in that certain kind of way only her eyes can. He wanted to capture her smile and make it his prisoner, forcing it to be present every second of every day. But his selfishness and hunger for her presence is overshadowed by his understanding she needs to be with her family at the moment. Family she hadn't seen since her parents died. Family she was estranged from for such a long time. Once they're gone, she's going to be all his.

"Hey" - there's a voice coming from behind him, and when he turns around, he sees Jeremy standing there. Stefan smiles at him after a silent 'hey' and goes back to carefully preparing coffee. He was surprised Jeremy came to him, he didn't think he likes him so much. He got an overly protective brother attitude from him since the moment he had met him. Jeremy leans against a counter, and Stefan can feel his eyes locked on him. "I just wanted to thank you, for everything you did for my sister" - he speaks, and he sounds truly grateful.

Stefan stops for a moment, not certain why is Jeremy thanking him. He had done exactly what any other man in his situation would have done. Or at least, what every man in his situation should do. But after pondering a little, he realizes a lot of men would not do what he has done. Some of them would never acknowledge the babies. Some of them would kick her on the street. Some of them would call her names. Some of them would make her have an abortion.

And what has he done? He fell in love with her.

You would think Jeremy is going to accuse him of ruining his sister's life, of getting her pregnant and taking away any chance of her having a real family. But instead, he thanked him for doing the right thing. Says a lot about the world we're living in, when a man is thankful, and somewhat surprised, when others do something right, something that is expected from them.

"It was my pleasure" - a watery smile appears on Stefan's face. It was his pleasure indeed. There's nothing he would give up Elena, and his daughters, for.

Jeremy smiles back before his face hardens. "Elena told me about that Nik guy" - his voice is full of hate, it's cracking like ice under pressure - "How you scared him of" - Jeremy hisses through his teeth, silently.

Stefan only nods in return. Thoughts about Nik drive him to dark places, places he never wants to revisit. That sad excuse of a man makes his stomach twist and turn.

"I want to kill him" - Jeremy says with so much hate in his voice that Stefan instantly believes him. If Nik was standing in front of them, Jeremy would take a knife in his hands and plunge it through his heart without giving it a second thought. Stefan understood that, because thoughts about killing Nik actually crossed his mind one time too many. Stefan looks at Jeremy who is deep into thought. Then his eyes brighten and he looks up at Stefan. "How much do you really love her?" - he asks.

_'So much it physically hurts me being in the same room with her and not holding her in my arms'_, is the first thing that crosses Stefan's mind, but he knows Jeremy is not interested in hearing that. He knows exactly what Jeremy is hinting at.

"I love her enough to not leave her or my children because I killed a man who doesn't even deserve dying" - Stefan locks his eyes on Jeremy's, and the lines of Jeremy's face soften. He's a father now. He has Elena. He has a family. He can't go off doing whatever he wants anymore, because now, he has to look at a bigger picture. His actions affect the lives of people who rely on him.

Jeremy takes a dip sigh. "He could do this again, to someone else. He could really hurt someone one day" - his eyes widen.

Stefan had thought about this too. About how abusers never stop, but only get more daring with time. One day, he could stop with emotional violence and start using physical violence. Or both. He might actually kill someone. He wanted to go to police, but Elena was right, there's no use. There's no record of her being abused, there are no witnesses and no proof. It's her word against his, and with that kind of a case, they would drag in courts for years.

With time, Stefan realized he can't save everyone. And he tried. He had no matter in saying will his mother live or die - it was her choice to carry him to the world even though she knew there might be complications while giving birth. That she might lose her life. If he had any say in the matter, maybe now she would be alive, Damon would grow up with a mother, his father would still be alive, and he would not have to take that look on his fathers face every time on his birthday, that look that is saying - you killed her. She is dead because of you. Look full of hate and regret and accusation followed by his watery eyes as he finished his last glass of whiskey. He never said anything, he simply looked at him with that look, and Stefan very well knew what he would say. And sometimes he wished he did, because words would hurt much less than that look. As Stefan grew, as he was becoming a man who could take much more than a little boy could, the look only became worse - more hateful, more accusatory. Maybe that is why his father took his own life, out of fear one day he will say something out loud. That one day, look won't be enough. But Stefan dismissed those thoughts quickly, he did not need more guilt on his plate, he had enough of it as it is.

You can't save everyone. But he managed to save Elena, and somewhere along the line, that became enough for him.

"I only know Elena needs me more than that man needs dying" - Stefan replies truthfully, but with his eyes indicates to Jeremy he does care about other peoples lives. But there's still fire in Jeremy's eyes, fire ignited by his need to protect, a feeling Stefan understood too well. He dropped everything he was doing, turned around to face Jeremy and crossed his arms on his chest. "Look, I'm not going to lie, killing him actually crossed my mind more times than I would like to admit" - Stefan said truthfully, a little ashamed of it. He looked over his shoulder, one of his eyes still locked on Jeremy - "But I'm not ready to throw everything I have for someone like him" - he looked at Elena who was holding one of his daughters in her arms, smiling at her - "Look man" - he transferred his look back to Jeremy - "There's a lot of evil in the world, and you can't stop it all. But doing what you can, not ignoring it when you face it, that's what counts. That's all we can do, really" - he went back to preparing coffee. He took out 7 cups and poured some milk and sugar, waiting for the espresso machine to be done with making coffee.

"You're good for her" - Jeremy says, and when Stefan turns his head around to look at him, he has a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Yeah?" - he asks confused, because if anything, it's the other way around. She's been good for him more than he's been for her.

Jeremy nods his head. "Elena has always been scared. Scared of everything. Of life itself. And them she met that man" - he spits _'that man'_ out of his mouth like it's a poison - "And he had trapped her even more. She got free of him, but she was wounded, unable to fly. You helped her survive."

A smile appears on Stefan's face. "She did that all by herself" - he says proudly.

But Jeremy is persistent. "You fixed her."

Stefan furrows his brows. "She fixed me."

Jeremy laughs lightly and as he's about to leave Stefan's side, he slaps him on the back with his open hand. "Maybe you fixed each other" - he smiles once again before going back to his conversation with Tyler.

**xxxx**

"So, how are things going with Elena?" - Caroline asked as she took a bite of a bear claw she ordered - "And please, do not tell me the same thing you told me the last time" - she furrows her brows while chewing hungrily.

Stefan looks at his friend with a confused face expression. Caroline on carbs? What is going on? "No, everything is fine" - a smile appears on his face as he tries to hide his true emotions from his face.

"But?" - Caroline asks, shocking him.

"There's no but" - he tries to keep his cool. How does she know? She always knows. Caroline has this unique way of knowing things.

Caroline frowns as she swallows. "There's but written all over your face" - she says a little bit too loud.

Okay, maybe he's simply just too damn transparent.

He takes a deep sigh as he nervously scratches the top of his hand with the fingers of his other hand. "The thing is" - he says silently - "We haven't had sex yet" - he lowers his voice as he pronounces the word sex, as if it's a taboo.

Caroline's eyes widen. "But it's been more than 3 months since the babies were born" - she says before taking another bite of her bear claw.

_'Oh God, she's not pregnant, is she?'_, is the first thing that goes through Stefan's mind, but he dismisses the thought. "3 months, 14 days, 7 hours and 45 minutes, to be precise" - he says after looking at his wrist watch.

Caroline cocks her eyebrow at him. "Very romantic, Romeo" - she giggles - "Have you tried.. anything?" - she has some problems with forming the sentence.

Stefan rolls his eyes. "Of course I've tried. But every time we get close to it, she would pull away" - the feeling of being unwanted saddens him, and Caroline can see it in his eye as they sparkle.

Caroline cocks her eyebrow at him. "Maybe she's worried you will get her pregnant again with you super powerful Salvatore sperm" - she giggles.

She stops the waitress who was passing by their table and orders another bear claw. "Make that two" - she yells after her and the waitress politely nods.

"Caroline, what the hell is going on?" - he says a little louder than he intended - "Bear claws? You?" - he explains when he catches a confused expression on her face.

She inhales deeply before her eyes land on a coffee table. "It's Tyler."

"Did you sleep with him and he forgot to call?" - he makes an assumption he regrets as soon as he sees the look on her face.

She shakes her head. "That's the thing" - she stops as the waitress puts a plate with her bear claws on the table and smiles into her direction before looking at Stefan hungrily. Can she be anymore obvious? Stefan smiles politely, and she flutters away from their table like a schoolgirl. When Caroline decides she's far enough, she continues - "I don't want to sleep with him."

"Meaning?" - Stefan asks confused.

Caroline sighs. "We went out. I took him for a tour of the city. I was like, totally ready to sleep with him. But he was so sweet. And so open. And funny. And we spent the whole time talking. Time just flew by" - Caroline took a bite of her second bear claw - "Do you think he's gay?" - she asks worriedly.

Stefan laughs lightly at his friends worries. Her lack of want to slap with Tyler has obviously been bugging her. "Have you ever thought you maybe like him too much to waste him on a one night stand?"

Caroline swallows and she ponders over the idea. "Actually, no" - she furrows her brows.

Stefan laughs again, and this time, Caroline laughs after him.

"I want to take Elena on a date" - Stefan says after they spend few moments in silence, each in their own world.

"Nice idea" - Caroline agrees. They have never been on a date.

"So, could you take the twins for the night?" - he asks hopefully.

Caroline's eyes widen. "Stefan" - she says his name with such a warm voice, surprised and honored at the same time he would leave his daughters with her - "Of course I could" - she smiled at him happily, and he smiled back at her.

**xxxx**

**A/N: So, how will their date go?**

**Thank you so much for your reviews, keep them coming ;) I hope everyone who wanted to see Stefan/Jeremy interaction are satisfied :D**


	22. Step Forward

Elena filled the bathtub with water, lemon bath salts and vanilla scented bubble bath. It was a Saturday afternoon, and she was tired after being alone with the girls for the whole day. Her and Stefan had plans, to take the twins for a walk in the morning, feed them, put them for a nap, and then cuddle up in front of tv and watch a movie. But as they were about to leave the apartment, Stefan was called in for an emergency surgery, and he came back home only and hour ago. Elena went for a short walk to the park with them, stopped by a grocery store to get few things, but from the moment they stepped into the apartment, everything went downhill. While Elena was feeding Emily, Lara was screaming. While she was feeding Lara, Emily was screaming. A little less loud than Lara has been, but she was screaming nevertheless. She could not wait until they're old enough to have solid food, because breastfeeding would tire her more mentally than physically, and her doctor had told her if she's able to breastfeed, that's what she should do, especially in Emily's case. When she was done with feeding them, they screamed together, at the same time. She tried to calm them down, and as she calmed one down, the other would start screaming, and it was a vicious circle of loud, baby voices. After an hour and a half, they finally fell asleep, and so did Elena, only to be waken up and hour later by one of he girls fussing in her crib. It was Emily. She picked her up and played with her for few minutes until Lara woke up and mutual screaming started again. She fed them for the third time today, and when she finished, Stefan came back home. She was tired, and on the verge of a break down, and she knew if he said anything but _let me take them_, she would snap at him. Fortunately, he said exactly what she wanted to hear. Stefan always would. He took the babies and suggested her to take a bath, which sounded like an amazing idea. So it turned out to be.

She's been in the bathroom for an hour, at least. In the beginning she could have heard Stefan playing with them, but after some time, she could not hear anything. She probably blocked out all of the noises. When the skin of her fingers and toes shriveled from the water, she got out from the bathtub and wrapped a towel around her. She came out of the bathroom only to catch Stefan watching something on television.

"Where are they?" - she asked confused, not able to see babies anywhere. She doubted Stefan was able to put them to sleep so soon.

Stefan turned his head around and looked at her confused. He stood on his feet and looked around himself, scratching the back of his neck. "They were here a minute ago" - he says alarmingly.

Elena's eyes widen in shock, and she parts her lips but no sound comes out.

A smile appears on Stefan's face as he waves his hand at her. "Caroline came to pick them up few minutes ago" - he says with his eyes wandering all over her body which is only covered with a plain, white towel. Her wet hair is falling over her shoulders, drops of water going down the smooth skin of her arms.

She furrows her brows. "Why?" - she crosses her arms and creates a cleavage out of her towel, and Stefan's look instantly falls on her breasts.

Stefan makes few steps closer to her. "Because you and me, we're going on a date" - he locks his eyes on hers.

Her eyes widen even more. A date? A date sounds nice. More than nice. They haven't had much alone time since they labeled themselves as a couple. And when they did have free time, their encounters were more of a physical nature.

"Stefan" - she says his name through a whine, and he backs down immediately - "You should have asked me first. I was never apart from them" - she frowns, forgetting everything about how she needed rest from them, and how she wished for Stefan to come home so he can deal with them instead of her. But now when they weren't here, she had an incredible urge to hold them.

Stefan crosses his arms on his chest, his muscles tightening. "If I asked you, you would have said no" - he frowns, bringing his eyebrows closer together, leaving a small, triangle space between them.

"Of course I would have. They're only a little more than three months old, they belong with us" - she says angrily.

Stefan exhales loudly, which annoys Elena a little. "Do you really think I'd leave our children with someone who's not capable of taking care of them?" - he asks, a little offended by the lack of confidence she has in him - "Caroline has been with them since they were born. Lexi will stop by. She's a nurse. She's been handling babies for years" - Stefan wraps his arms even tighter around his body.

He has a point. Her look drops on the floor, and she has nothing more to say, even though she would like to. Stefan's stiff body relaxes as Elena does too.

"Don't you think we need some alone time?" - he asks gently as she raises her look to meet his.

They do. They really need to do something couples do. And a date seems like a perfect start of it. But not seeing the babies before Caroline took them away, not saying bye to them and making sure they have everything they need was on the top of her mind.

She did not understand why was she so worried - Stefan never gave her a reason to not trust him.

"When will she bring them back?" - Elena asks, slowly regaining her posture.

"Whenever we want her to" - he said, lowering his voice. What was he supposed to say? That she will bring them in the morning because he expects she will spread her legs for him tonight?

Elena frowns some more, hugging her arms around her own body tighter. "Why did she not simply stay here with them while we're out?" - she asks, hinting she can see right through him.

Good question. He has not thought about that at all. When he asked Caroline to watch over them, she said she will pick them at 7pm sharp, and he accepted it.

"Maybe she wanted to be in her own apartment, on a familiar territory" - view of Caroline's apartment flashed before his eyes and he hoped she will not lose one of the babies in her mess. What he hoped more is that she cleaned her apartment, but he knew the chances of that happening are low.

His answer only seemed to infuriate Elena more. "Stefan, she basically lives here, this apartment is familiar territory" - she raised her voice.

How was he supposed to answer to that? No matter what he says, he could never win. So he sighed loudly, made few steps towards her and put his hands on her arms.

"Elena, we can stand here for another 3 hours and argue, or we can get dressed, go out and have a good time" - he said with a calming voice, not knowing what to expect from her.

The lines on her face became soft all of a sudden, and a watery smile appeared on her face. She nodded at him warmly before turning around and leaving to get dressed.

**xxxx**

Elena was cold and distant. He thought things will go smoothly after she agreed on getting dressed and actually going through with the date. But she wasn't. All the time they were driving to the restaurant, she was silent. She did not even say one word. Not even when he told her how amazing she looks in her back bared, white, lacy dress. Because she did. She looked more than amazing, but Stefan could not find a word in English vocabulary, or any other language he was fluent in, to describe how amazing she looked.

Maybe he should have told her. Maybe he should have asked her will she be fine with being away from the babies for few hours. Maybe she would have said yes. If he did, maybe they would be enjoying themselves at the moment. Maybe he would get to see her smile.

But he wanted to surprise her. He wanted to make her day. And somehow, he managed to do the opposite.

He thought about making their first date special, different, memorable. But he gave up on the idea, and he reserved them a table at his favorite restaurant. What they really needed was a quiet evening where they could talk, get to know each other a little bit better. They had a lifetime of experiencing special, different, memorable things. Now, they needed something normal.

When they arrived at the restaurant, the waiter took them to their separe, which was intimate and divided from the rest of the tables. Stefan did everything in his power to make sure they are going to be comfortable and alone.

Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe they're a mistake. Maybe the love he feels for her is an illusion created by the fact she's the mother of his children. Maybe the thought she feels the same for him was the biggest illusion out of them all. Maybe they are not fit for a couple, and the only reason they lasted as long as they did is because of their daughters. And now when they're comfortable in their roles, now when they see they're going to make it, maybe what they feel, or what they don't feel, is surfacing.

"Are you going to be like this the whole night?" - Stefan asked, slightly annoyed with Elena's behavior.

"Yes" - she said, not lifting her look from the menu.

"Why?" - he asked, annoyance obvious in his voice.

She finally lifted her look from the menu and locked her eyes on his. "Maybe because you got rid of our daughters so we can have sex" - she closed the menu with a loud thump and put it on the edge of the table.

Stefan's face adapted a blank face expression. He was grateful he got them a private separe. "The only thing I wanted for us is to have some time alone" - he said truthfully.

He really did. He wanted some alone time with her. No family, no friends, no screaming babies, only the two of them, separated from the world. He wanted to enjoy her, he wanted to make her smile, he wanted to smile, he wanted to see her fingers wrap around a glass full of wine, he wanted to see red lipstick on her lips. If they had sex, it would only be a bonus. He hoped they would have sex. But he never expected it to happen tonight.

"Which in guy vocabulary means sex" - she hissed through her teeth.

Guy vocabulary?

"Is it so bad that I want to have sex with you?" - he asked, his annoyance reaching his high point. He did not understand why was she so opposed to having sex with him.

His question took her breath away. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. Finally, she leaned on the back of the chair. There was nothing wrong about him wanting to sleep with her. She wanted sleep with him too. But in the same time, she was afraid of it.

"I do not want for this relationship to turn into only sex" - she said with a hard voice.

He dismissed her statement with a light laugh. "Yeah Elena, I got you pregnant and started a relationship with you only so one year later I can have sex with you again. It was my plan all along" - he leaned on the back of the chair too and rolled his eyes.

She made no sense. By the look in her eyes he could see something is wrong, but he also knew she's not telling him the truth. That something else is bothering her.

"We have two three month old babies. We hardly have time to breathe, not alone develop a functional relationship. If we started having sex now, that's all we would be doing" - she raised her tone at him a little bit.

He looked at her confused and leaned closer, putting his elbows on the table. "We do not have time to develop a functional relationship?" - he asked with a husky voice, praying this doesn't mean what he thinks it means.

Her eyes were locked on his and she was unable to move them. It's like she froze on the spot. She barely remembered saying those words, and when she did, she realized she failed to express herself. She did not mean it like that at all.

"I'm going home" - she said as she got up from the chair. She did not know how to answer his question. Saying she did not mean it like that would only induce more questions, questions she would not want to answer, or would not know how.

He inhaled deeply, got up from the chair and followed her as she was walking towards the exit of the restaurant. He did not want to. But part of him was always afraid Nik is still out there, and that one day, he will try to hurt her.

The other part of him was afraid he will lose her if he doesn't follow her.

**xxxx**

Elena gets in the apartment, and Stefan follows her. Both of them were quiet the whole ride home from the restaurant. He took his phone out of his pocket and started going through his call list.

"What are you doing?" - he could hear Elena's voice, but he did not raise his head up.

She did not sound angry, or annoyed. Her voice was gentle. She even sounded tired.

"I'm calling Caroline to tell her I'm going to come to pick the twins" - he kept scrolling down his call list, even though he did not know why. He knows Caroline's number by memory.

He felt Elena coming closer to him. He could have seen her shadow covering his as she stood in front of him, putting her hand on his. "Don't" - she tried to stop him from pressing the call button when she noticed he reached Caroline's number - "Please" - she said with a husky voice, and when he finally lifted his head to meet her look, he noticed trail of tears on her cheek. He hasn't even noticed she's been crying, and he felt bad about it. He wanted to clear her face, but the tears already dried off, only leaving a long, wet trail on her smooth skin.

"Maybe we should talk" - she said as she removed her hand from his. He placed his phone back in his pocket, crossing his arms on his chest. She moved away from him, and her eyes glistened under the kitchen light.

"Talk about what, Elena?" - he sounded desperate, like a lost child trying to find its way back home - "You said we do not have time to develop a relationship, basically saying we're not worth it" - he raised his voice a little, hurt and annoyed at the same time.

"That is not what I wanted to say - "

"And then you accuse me of doing all of this only to have sex with you" - he interrupts her in the middle of her sentence. He wanted to let her finish, but he could not keep it inside anymore. "Better question is, why don't you want to have sex with me?" - he asks hurt, the feeling of being unwanted, unneeded resurfacing. He wanted to be with her so badly. He loved her. He wanted to show her that in every way possible. He wanted to make love to her. He did not want to fuck her, he wanted to melt with her. To kiss her neck and pulls his fingers through her hair, to feel her body pressing against his. When you love someone, you want to share that kind of intimacy with them. It's normal. What's not normal is, claiming to want to be with someone, and then being unable to do so.

"Because I'm scared Stefan" - she raises her voice, and he can see tears falling from the corners of her eyes.

She knows she's acting silly. She must seem silly to him. Being scared of sleeping with him like she hasn't done it before. She bites her lip and lowers her head.

She hasn't been intimate with someone for the sake of satisfaction in such a long time. The last, and only time she slept with him, it was to gain something. To feel something, more of an emotional nature than physical one. She stopped enjoying sex with Nik only after one year of their relationship.

"I want to be with you, in every way possible, but I'm afraid" - she said with a teary voice, trying to stop herself from crying, but being unable in doing so - "Because the last time I gave myself to another person completely, they turned out to be a monster" - she raised her look and locked it with Stefan's, only to notice the flushed expression on his face - "I know you're not him. I know you would never treat me the way he did" - she said to clear him of all doubt. She never wanted to connect Stefan to Nik. There was no need to. Stefan was his complete opposite, he was everything Nik wasn't. Which only made Elena fall harder for him. Because everything Nik broke Stefan fixed. "But those things happened to me, and one part of me is scared it will happen again" - she released a loud sob.

His face was pale. She had put her hands on the kitchen island. Her knees were trembling. There were tears on her cheek. She was sad. And the only thing he wanted to do was to make her happy. And he managed to do the complete opposite. How had he not noticed it before, or at all? He did not even think about it. He was too busy with his own pain, with dealing with the feeling of being unwanted and unneeded, that he did not even think about connecting the dots. It was not that she did not want him, she was afraid of wanting him. Of loving him. She went through something horrible, and he thought her problems will eventually go, but it's not that easy. It's never that easy.

When something bad happens, it stays with you, always reminding you how easy it is to get hurt.

She knew she's acting silly. To him, she probably seemed silly. Being afraid of making love to him. Sometimes she was silly to herself. Because she wanted to be with him, but whenever she was close, she got that tightening feeling in her stomach, making her want to stop whatever they were doing.

He made few steps towards her and with much needed gentleness wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm so sorry Stefan" - she cried in the hem of his shirt.

Sorry? She had nothing to feel sorry for. If anything, he should be sorry, for being so wrapped up into his thoughts that he forgot to care about what she might be going through. For not noticing when he should have noticed. He did not want her to feel sorry or guilty or anything else that might make her think he's mad at her.

He had let her go out of his hug and wrapped his fingers around her arms. "There is nothing to be sorry about" - he did not know what to say, but he also knew he has to say something - "I should be sorry, for not noticing" - his eyes were locked on her big, glossy chestnut eyes for the whole time. Words were playing around his brain, and he was afraid he's going to say something wrong, which will only sadden her more. "But I love you and I wanted to show you that by being with you and - "

He had stopped in the middle of the sentence when he had noticed the look in her eyes. She was pale. She was looking at him, and she was scared. Her body was stiff under his fingers, and the intensity of her stare was deadly.

Rewind. Did those three words really come out of his mouth? Now? At the worst time possible? Telling her he loves her while she's telling him she's scared of loving him? To her, it must seem like he's trying to find an easy way out.

He never planned for it to happen like this. On the other hand, he never planned for it at all. You can't plan those things, falling in love or telling someone you love them. Those things simply happen, sometimes in the worst possible moment, and either way, you have no control over them.

And sometimes love can turn that worst possible moment in the best time of your life.

He tried to pull away from her, but he had felt her fingers gripping around his wrist, stopping him from going away. His eyes were locked on hers for the whole time, and when her lips parted a little, he could have sworn his heart stopped beating for a moment.

"I love you too" - words crawled up her throat, slipped down her tongue and covered her lips like finest wine, in his ears creating a melody, so special, so sweet, so different, only for him to hear.

Maybe she wasn't afraid after all. Or maybe she only needed to hear those words first in order to say them back.

The corners of his lips curved into a smile. His eyes smiled. His face smiled. His whole being smiled causing her to smile alongside him. She loves him. It was simple as that, and only few moments ago, it was complicated.

A long time ago, she had realized Stefan is her strength. She was drowning, and as he was passing by, he saved her. For some reason he cared enough to save her. This stranger, this weak little creature with face of a little girl but heart of a warrior, he took her in his arms like a bird who broke its wing, and nurtured her back to health, teaching her how to fly again. He was her savior, with a body of Greek god, heart of a lion, and eyes that held so much hurt behind them that made her wish she's strong enough to take it away. He was the father of her children, her love, her home. And at this moment, she realized there is not a place she would rather be at than in his arms, because this is where she belongs. This is where she had always belonged. His arms were her home, place she was not born at but a place she was destined to find, and now when she had finally found it, there is no need to be afraid anymore.

Love is not something you should be afraid of.

"And maybe, I'm so scared, because I'm so madly in love with you" - she said with such warmness behind her eyes. "But there's nothing to be afraid of, is there?" - it was more of a rhetorical question, and he realized she doesn't expect an answer from him. "No" - she shook her head, answering her own question, like she finally made a great discovery.

She looked down at his lips. She knew those lips very well. She knew their length, and thickness, and shape. She knew ever small line on the skin of her lips, and how he loved to suck her lower lip in between his while he was pulling his fingers up and down her spine. She knew how sexy his lower jaw looked while he was smiling. She knew it so well so she could feel his lips on hers and his touch on her skin and memory of it was coursing through her mind, igniting a fire in her body.

"No more words, only actions" - there was no need for her to get on the tip of her toes as she would usually have to, because she was wearing her heels so she was approximately the same height as Stefan.

As she pressed her lips against his, she closed her eyes and traveled to part of her universe where there was no space or time, only her and Stefan, forever engulfed in each other arms. She threw her arms around his neck, and he had put his hands on her bare back, as her tongue touched his lips, forcing them to part so her tongue can meet his. He was eager to let her tongue part his lips.

He felt her body against his. Her long legs, which were one of her best assets. Her tiny waist and subtle hips his hands were wandering over. Her flat stomach, her breasts, pressing next to his chest, making his heart beat rhythmically with hers. Her hair falling down her shoulders, her back, touching her cheek, tickling his neck. Her arms around his neck, the tips of her fingers touching his hair. Her lips pressing against his. She was on fire, or she was the fire, he wasn't sure. And he could feel himself getting hard. Harder. Every second now. If this doesn't lead to where he was hoping it would, he's going to explode.

She pulled her hands back, and detached her lips from his. He grabbed his suit, and started pulling it down his arms, slowly. Like they have all the time in the world. And they did. He could be doing this with her for the rest of his life. Maybe he was doing it in the past life too, and maybe he will doing it in the future life also. "I want you to take me" - she said seductively, with a smokey voice. The light in the kitchen was so bright, he could see every line of her face, as if he didn't know it by memory. But she looked beautiful under the direct light. Breathtaking. Magnetizing. Gratifying. His suit fell down his arms, and she threw it behind her. He did not see where it landed, nor did her care. "Right here, right now" - she said as she unbuttoned the top button on his shirt. "I want you to have me" - second button went off - "To make me yours" - third, fourth, fifth, she was starting to accelerate her pace - "I want to feel you inside of me" - sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth. Done. She pulled the shirt off his body as well and threw it in the direction of his suit. She had put her hands on his chest, her fingers wandering all over his upper body. His stomach, his arms. She bit her lower lip. She looked up, at the ceiling, and frowned. "Maybe we should turn the lights off" - she said.

When her look fell back on his face, he was smirking. He had put his hands under her bottom and lifted her up, before placing her on the kitchen island. "No" - he said firmly. He kissed her neck. Right side. Left side. Middle. She shivered. There was no more gravity for her, she was floating. When he detached his lips from her skin, it was like someone threw a brick at her. Reality had set in. World was still there, spinning. Only a second passed. Sure? Because it seemed like an hour. "I want to see every inch of your body" - he kissed her cheek, caressed the other one with his fingers, kissing her under her ear before finally reaching her ear and sucking on her earlobe.

"Ah" - was all she said. Soft, gentle, sweet _ah_.

"Every curve" - her earlobe fell out of his lips - "Every hollow" - his lips fell back on her neck, finding that special spot she loved to be kissed on so much - "I want to see your face" - his lips fell on her collar bone - "As I taste every inch of your skin" - he had put his hands on her keens, his fingers traveling up her legs, finally reaching her thighs and squeezing them softy - "There's not a part of you my lips won't taste" - she blushed as he had promised. Her blood was boiling. "Have I ever told you how sexy you look in lace?" - he pulled his hands from under her dress and placed them on her bare back.

"You like my dress?" - she managed to say while cupping his face, forcing him to look inside of her hungry eyes. He nodded. Her lips fell on his ear, her hot breath covering one side of his face - "Wait until you see what I'm wearing underneath it" - she pushed his buttons. If he wasn't hard before, he was now. His imagination was running wild.

He wanted to tear that dress off her body, but in the same time, he wanted to undress her slowly. She had put her fingers on his belt, but he had grabbed her wrists and stopped her from doing so. He shook his head at her confused look as he placed her hands on the counter. "I want to enjoy you" - a grin appeared on his face. He unzipped her dress. "The view" - he bit his bottom lip. He wasn't sure is his brain able to make meaningful sentences anymore. He pulled her half, lacy sleeves down her arms, finally seeing what she's been hiding underneath. Silky, hot red bra.

There was something about the combination she was wearing. White, lacy dress and red, silky underwear. White, color that represented purity and eternity. Color that perfectly represented his Elena. His sweet, little, fragile Elena. And red, color of passion and sin. A side of her he has yet to meet.

He stared at her big, juicy breasts that were practically begging to be released from the tight bra they were captured in. He licked his lips, and she giggled.

He started pulling the rest of her dress down her body, until it finally fell on the floor, down her legs, and she was left, sitting on the kitchen island under bright light, in nothing but silky, red bra and matching panties. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer, which is when she felt his hardness pressing on her panties, making her bite her lower lip. She felt bad for him, thinking about how much time it passed since he last had sex, and she couldn't wait for him to release all of that sexual frustration inside of her. But he did not look like he's in a hurry to do so.

She had put her hands on her back, and unhooked her bra. The straps of the bra fell slowly down her arm, taking the rest of the bra with them. Stefan lowered his head on her breasts, kissing the top of them. He took her left boob in his hand, gently fondling it with his fingers, before finally putting her nipple inside of his mouth.

With his hand, he had made her lower her body on the counter in the lying position. His lips wandered down her body. First her breasts, then her stomach, then her thighs. He was so close to his goal, but he never quite reached it, and it was driving her insane. She started squirming.

He pulled his finger over her panties, the tip of his finger, alongside with the silk of her panties, falling little inside of her lips. Her panties were damp. "Mmm, you're so wet" - he murmured. He had put his fingers in her panties and pulled them down her legs. She inhaled deeply, preparing for what's coming next.

He took her legs and placed them on his shoulders, parting her legs to get a better access. As she felt his tongue parting her lips, she released a satisfying moan. She was so tense. It's been such a long time.

One moan was being released after another. They were becoming more frequent, louder. He raised his look few times only to see her face bathed in satisfaction.

He was so good in this. It was like he knew exactly what she wants and what she needs. He was in sync with her.

"Fuck Stefan" - she had put her hand on his head, pulling her fingers through his hair, her walls suffocating his tongue. He held his hands on her hips, holding on to her, as he felt her body going stiff. She wrapped her fingers around his hair as she came. "Stefan" - she said his name while breathing loudly - "Jesus Christ" - she said through a light laugh. She couldn't remember the last time she came so hard.

She never came so hard.

He lifted himself up with a smile on his face. There was still satisfaction visible all over he face, her naked body trembling with pleasure in front of him. He looked at her, really looked at the beauty in front of him. Her big, beautiful eyes centered on his face. Her little perky nose wiggling in the middle of her face. A smile on her face, somewhere in the middle of an angelic smirk and devilish grin. His name written all over her lips. Her hair falling over the sides of her face, covering her blushing cheeks. Her swan like neck, her collar bones sticking out of her skin, her firm breasts sticking out of her body, inviting him to play, her luscious hips and flat stomach, her subtle thighs and a gap between them, her smooth skin..

She must be the most beautiful woman this world has ever seen and will see, and she was all his. She was basically begging him to be his and who was he to refuse request of his goddess?

He lifted her up from the kitchen island, and she giggled. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed his neck, playing with the ends of his hair.

"Where are we going?" - she asked confused as he started walking down the hall.

"I thought bed would be a much more comfortable place for what's going to happen next" - he said as he pushed their bedroom door open. She jumped out of his embrace, and finally unbuckled his belt. His pants fell down his legs, and she helped him take his boxers off as well. When she noticed how hard he is, she bit her lower lip playfully. She could feel herself getting wet all over again.

He wanted to take her, but she had put palms of both of her hands on his chest and pushed him on the bed. As he fell on his back, surprised, she giggled playfully while getting on top of him.

She was surprised by her behavior. She never acted so.. free. It's not like she used to lie on the bed like a plank while having sex, but she could not remember the last time she was so loud. She was never so loud. She was never so wet, and she never came as hard as she did tonight. She never used to scream the guys name. She always thought it's weird. But now, she realized, no one actually drove her to screaming their name. She felt like there's no tomorrow. Like there's no one else in the hundred mile radius but them.

He would never have guessed she's so playful. She was like a child trapped in the body of a grown woman. She acted like everything is new to her, like she's on some kind of an adventure, but in the same time, like she's doing something forbidden. That's how she was like one moment, and then the other, she was dominant. Like she knows exactly what she's doing and like she did this hundred of times before. That's when she really surprised him.

She was his perfect woman, he came to realize. In every aspect of her being. They balanced each other.

"I want to be on top" - she said while lowering her lips on his chest and planting kisses all over his torso. He had no problems with that. Actually, he would prefer her being on top.

She reached down his body and took his erection in her hand, smirking at him. "Did I do that?" - she whispered into his ear seductively as she kept pumping him. He growled into hear ear, making her giggle on more time.

She placed herself on the top of his erection, slowly sliding down on it, and for some reason, her face expression while she did so only made him harder. As she started riding him, she pulled her fingers through her hair and pushed it backwards. While she kept circling her hips and jumping on him up and down, lightly, she kept looking him in the eyes, and he found nothing sexier than her locking her eyes on his while doing the deed.

It was only now that he noticed how nice she smelled. And tasted.

She lowered her upper body on his and kissed his lips. It was a small peck, but it had set the endings of his nerves on fire. He could have felt her hot breath on his face. He had put his hand on her back and rolled her over. She laughed.

He could have felt her walls tightening against him, and her body going stiff. He could have felt himself reaching his peak. She screamed his name in his ear couple of more times. Then she said _fuck_ one more time, really loudly, as she came all over him.

His words exactly.

Was there an earthquake, or was it all in his head?

He rolled from her while trying to catch his breath. Earth shattering, breathtaking, best experience in his life, ever.

She climbed on top of him again and smiled at him, breathing heavily. She looked at him suggestively.

"Elena, I need few minutes to recover" - he said, pulling his fingers through her hair.

She shook her head while smiling. "No. Remember what you did to me in the kitchen?" - she asked, slightly blushing.

"Yeah" - does he remember? She can expect it soon again.

"Well, I thought I could repay you" - she said silently.

But before he could reply anything, her lips were already going down his body and.. Oh. _Elena_.

**xxxx**

**A/N: I'm sorry if this update took a little longer than usual, but I was in no mood to write because I was really saddened by what happened in the show. Still am. But do not worry, they will be back. Maybe she needs.. something different. Maybe both of them need a little break. Just because Damon is the best thing for her now, doesn't mean he's the best thing for her in general. The girl Stefan fell in love with is still there, but Elena went through a great change and she needs to adapt to it. Stefan's guilt, him trying to save her is what enabled him to be there for her. Doesn't mean he doesn't love her, quite opposite - he loves her too much. There will be back one day, take this as them having a vacation. Until then, I hope this chapter made you happy, at least a little.**

**And don't say I haven't warned you about the adult content, even though I tried to keep it at minimum ;) And thank you for the reviews, love you all!**


	23. Future

Sun. Warm, light beams of sun sneaking into their bedroom through the curtains and making a home for themselves on her half naked body. She can feel the warmth of the sun on the silky smooth skin of her legs, all the way up her knees, where the blanket starts covering her body, which is covered only up her waist. Sun beams prickling into her skin make her wake up, but she doesn't open her eyes. She's standing on a thin line between falling back to sleep, and waking up. Somewhere in the middle of fantasy and reality, in the middle of being completely aware of her surrounding and floating in the thin air. She can feel the beams moving up higher and higher on her body, and when she realizes they covered her arms and will soon shine on her face, she frowns a little and wiggles her nose. She refuses to wake up, because she's so perfectly comfortable where she is now.

She remembers everything she and Stefan did last night. What he did to her. What she did to him. Everything he whispered into her ear, from _'I love you'_ to _'Fuck, you're so tight'_. Every giggle and moan and gasp she released. There was a lot of panting involved, too. It was so vivid, it was so close and real, like it's happening at this moment. His touch on her skin, tips of her fingers on his lips, his fingers in her hair, her hand exploring his chest, his hands exploring every inch of her body as well as his tongue. When it comes to Stefan, it all comes down to one thing - touch. It was like his skin was woven out of the silkiest material, which one moment had her cold, then hot, it made her tremble from pleasure but also calm her down, like a child needs calming down after they wake up from a nightmare. His touch on her skin was heavenly, and it took her to places she never knew existed. There was something about the way he touched her, it made her jealous of all the women he touched before her, and it made her wonder did he make everyone feel like that or is she special. Because for the first time in her life, she feels special. Like she has this secret no one is supposed to know, like she's keeping some relevant information from the rest of the world, like she has some sort of a power everyone would try to steal from her if they knew she had it. Stefan was her secret, secret she wanted to reveal to the world, but in the same time keep to herself. He made her feel special, because with him, she wasn't just Elena, she was so much more.

She never knew one can be so sexually free. Not that she had that much experience, but she could have never imagined herself saying and doing the things she did last night, before she met Stefan. Her first sexual experience was of a short time, since she broke up with her boyfriend not long after it happened. Then Nik.. maybe she would have experienced all of this if he didn't turn into such a jerk.

No, she wouldn't. He was always a jerk. He only needed some time to show it, and she needed some time to realize it.

It was like she needed to experience all of this with Stefan. It was like he's the one.

One what?

One everything.

But now, she's exposed to him. She's vulnerable, and he knows all of the places that pain her the most. He can use it against her, because he knows she loves him. When you care for someone, it makes you weak. And when they know you care, they can walk all over you. She knows Stefan would never hurt her intentionally, but fear is a basic human emotion, and strangely enough, it is tightly connected to love. Happiness. Desire. Passion.

Somehow, everything leads back to fear. Can fear be conquered? Of course it can. Like the monster in the dark, it can crawl back under your bed when you turn the lights on - but as soon as you turn them off, they're back. You can never really conquer your emotions, because the truth is, they're move powerful than our little, human bodies can take.

But the thing is, she knows Stefan as well as he knows her, and she could hurt him as much as he could hurt her. Not that she ever would.

Love is like a game of chess, really. You keep playing and fighting until the opponent takes all of your pawns. And then, you have two choices - give up and acknowledge your defeat, or accept the fact you belong to someone. And not belong in a way _'now you're mine and I'm going to do with you whatever I want, control your will and take away your choices or disrespect you as a human being and use the power I have over you for evil'.. _but in a way someone can call you theirs. Not as a belonging, or a material thing, but as _'she's my wife'_ or _'she's the mother of my children'_. In a way, when someone calls you theirs, you feel proud to be called theirs. To be someone's. And when it comes to love, belonging to someone means exactly that, accepting the fact you're not alone anymore. You're theirs and they're yours and it as simple as that until it becomes complicated._  
_

The sun finally reaches her face, and it hurts her eyes. She frowns some more. But maybe waking up wouldn't be such a drag, because Stefan is next to her. A smile appears on her face. She reaches for him, but her hand falls on the cold, crumbled sheet. A smile disappears from her face. She opens her eyes, not caring for the sun anymore, and looks around the room. He's nowhere to be seen. The door of their bedroom are closed. She uncovers herself and jumps on her feet. She was wearing Stefan's shirt, the one he was wearing last night, and under it all she had was her underwear, which she did not even remember putting on before she fell asleep. She was walking on her bare toes, tapping on the warm carpet towards the door.

"Stefan?" - she called his name happily, like a child on a Christmas morning. When she exited the hallway, she saw Stefan holding one baby, and Caroline the other. Caroline's look fell on her, going up and down her body. In any other situation, Elena would be embarrassed if found standing in front of someone in her underwear and her boyfriend's shirt that only covered her thighs, but now, she was strangely uplifted, proud and secure about her body, that she did not mind. Caroline's expression of surprise turned into a wide grin.

"You two totally did it" - Caroline said with a satisfactory tone of voice which matched the look on her face which moved from Stefan to Elena.

"Caroline" - Stefan said her name like a warning, looking down at the babies. It was cute how protective he was of them, but in the same time, it was a reason to worry. How will he react one day when they grow up and show interest in boys..

"Oh please" - Caroline dismissed his tone of voice - "If I know, they know too. Baby instinct and all that" - she rolled her eyes while caressing the baby's tummy. The baby in her arms, Elena could clearly see now, was Emily.

Elena had to giggle at Caroline silliness, which surprised Stefan. He thought she would react differently to Caroline's comment. And she would, if she still wasn't under the effect of what happened last night. She simply could not stop smiling, which made Caroline grin even wider.

Elena finally walked over to Caroline and took Emily out of her hands. Emily fell into her arms and reached for Elena's face with her tiny hand, smiling.

"Were there any problems?" - Elena asked kinda absent, her full attention was on the child in her arms

"No" - Caroline said proudly - "Lexi came to check on them when her shift ended, and me and Tyler took them for a walk."

Elena raised her look and cocked her eyebrow at Caroline. "Tyler?" - she asked, acting surprised.

Caroline bowed her head down and blushed. Stefan was surprised by her actions, Caroline never used to act like that when some boy was in question.

"Yeah" - she replied shamefully, prolonging the word, and looking at her wrist watch. Her lips were shaped in the shape of a letter _o_ before she said - "Uh, I'm supposed to meet him in 15 minutes. Gotta hurry" - she placed a kiss on both of baby's heads and when she was on the front door she looked over her shoulder and said - "Congrats on the sex" - before slamming the door behind herself and disappearing from the apartment.

**xxxx**

We always expect the worst from people, situations, life in general. At least that was Elena's policy. Expect the worst, hope for the best. If you expect something good to happen, there's a 50% chance you will end up broken, so she opted to be pleasantly surprised rather than disappointed.

People are not so bad, and neither is life. Not everything is wicked and broken. But there's something that makes us expect the worst from everything.

Except in the times of great happiness, when everything seems perfect and we want it to stay that way. That is when our mind takes a completely different turn and we're sooner positive than negative.

If five years ago someone told Elena she is going to lead this life, she would have not believed them. The life she was leading back then was full of sorrow and misery and abuse, and the worst thing was, she had no hope it will get better. She thought she's stuck with Nik forever. But she wasn't. And somehow, she had realized that. And she broke free.

But even as she did so, she never thought she will fall in love again. Less alone have a family.

And then she met Stefan, and her life turned upside down, again. Only now, she liked hanging upside down, because with Stefan, being in that position, somehow she had found normality. And peace.

And now, two years later, she was in a committed relationship with one year old twins. Sure, neither her and Stefan thought this is how their lives will turn out. When they were growing into adults, both of them thought when they have children the person standing next to them will be their lifetime partner, not someone with whom they're still trying to make it work. They're work in progress. For them, things that should have come later came sooner, but their relationship is better than the relationship some of the married couples have. If things are not working out, a piece of paper is not going to keep you together. There was not a thing either of them regretted when it came to their relationship.

Stefan had a steady job he loved, and Elena was still on the maternity leave. They did not have any financial problems, even though few arguments were held about how, since they started dating, he started taking care of all of the expenses out of his pocket. Elena expressed how uncomfortable that makes her feel because she feels useless, to which Stefan said she's with the twins whole time while he's at work, and that she's anything but useless. He said that being a mom is the hardest job in the world, and that they're raising a family - it's not his money, it's their money.

One of the things Elena loved most about Stefan is the respect he had for women. After being treated with no respect for five years, every time she remembered how much Stefan respects not only her, but every woman, for who they are, it made her love him more.

Somehow, they had left their argument at that, thankful enough they do not have any real financial problems, so they can give their children everything they need. Even though Stefan was giving them way more than they need. Caroline and him are going to spoil the girls so damn much.

Other than that, their relationship was okay. More than okay. They could agree on how to raise their children, they could agree on everything - from which movie to watch over from which restaurant to order the food from to which kindergarten they want to send the twins in. They were quite a team, and on top of that, their sex life was amazing.

Elena was sitting in the corner of the couch, watching Stefan on the other end of the couch, playing with the twins. He was lying on his back, holding Emily in his arms, lifting her up and down, while she was laughing uncontrollably. Every time he lifted her down on his chest, she tried to grab his nose with her hand. Next to him, Lara was sitting on the couch, clutching to his arm, trying to climb on top of him, watching jealously at her sister.

Twins are going to be one in few days time, but even now, some differences are visible. Both of them have big, dark, brown eyes, the same Elena has, and a light brown wavy hair with blonde highlights. Elena was wondering where did they pull the gene for the hair from until Stefan said his mom had the same hair color. Wavy too. He had seen it on pictures Damon showed him, pictures he kept from his father, because he locked all of the memories of her and put it on the attic. Lara is already walking, really fast. Sometimes Elena takes her look away from her for one second, and she's already gone. They had to baby proof the apartment. And Emily, she was in no hurry. She could barely walk. She would mostly support herself against a chair or the couch and stand there until either somebody picked her up, or until she fell back on her ass.

"Do you want more kids?" - Elena asked out of the blue.

Stefan turned his head to her in a hurry, and he had a confused look on his face. She apparently surprised him with that question. She surprised herself.

"Not now" - she rolls her eyes - "In the future, I mean."

He exhales loudly, and after few seconds of glaring at her, he turns his head back to Emily who was still trying to catch his nose.

"I've always wanted a big family" - he smiles to Emily when she finally wraps her fingers around his nose.

She always wanted a big family too. She did not want a whole football team, but she was pretty sure she wants more than two kids. Not now. Now she had her hands full with these two. Maybe when they're older.

But she was talking to Stefan, about the future. She did not plan to talk about it. Nor was this her way of trying to find out is he thinking about spending the rest of his life with her. It came to her out of the blue, while watching him with their children, and she thought how she would never rather have kids with anyone other than him. He is such an amazing father. He is an amazing boyfriend. He is an amazing person in general.

He has her heart on a silver cord, and he keeps it connected to his. She can hear every beating of his heart, and she can feel every one of his thoughts vibrating through her mind. When they're making love, it's like she knows exactly what he's feeling, while he knows exactly what she needs.

"We're going to need a bigger place, though" - he interrupted her train of thoughts - "A house" - he placed Emily next to her sister and let them play together. Even though they were so different, they got along pretty well. "The neighborhood Damon lives in is nice and safe" - Stefan pondered a little.

Were they really talking about this? About the future? About buying a house? About expanding their family?

Was it too soon?

Was it too late?

No, it felt right. From the beginning, everything about them felt right.

"You need to finish college first, though" - he moved his look back to the girls as he said those words.

"Stefan, I already finished college" - Elena said confused.

He looked at her, with his arms crossed on his chest. "You said you always wanted to be a doctor, but.." - Stefan furrowed his brows - "He told you you're not good enough to be" - remembering Nik would always fill his eyes with hate. "But you are. You are so strong, and smart, and willing, and you can be whatever you want to be."

"Stefan.." - she prolonged his name. It would be nice, getting everything she ever wanted. But she couldn't. She had no money. And she could never be away from her children for so long.

"Do you want to be a doctor?" - he asked.

"Yes" - she said honestly. She owed him at least that much, the truth.

He got up and moved himself closer to her. He took one of her hands in his. "Then you're going to be a doctor. We're going to manage. You already gave up so much, and you missed so many opportunities. You need to do this for yourself. You need to be happy."

She looked him in the eyes and pulled her hand from his only to cup his face. "I am happy. You make me happy. They make me happy" - she referred to their daughters - "What we have makes me happy."

Stefan smiled at her lightly. "I know. But you need different kind of happy. Maybe not now, but one day you will. You have to be happy all day, not waiting to come home to be happy. They're going to grow up, start kindergarten, and then you can go back to college, if you want to. Do you want to?"

There were tears in her eyes. "Yes" - she admitted, her eyes puffy and her cheeks red.

"Then that's what you're going to do" - he locked his lips on hers.

**xxxx**

**This chapter was mostly fluff because I need fluff to remain emotionally stable.**

**Your reviews on the previous chapter really cheered me up, I'm so glad you've liked it.**

**Btw, there are only two more chapters of this story.**


	24. Surprise

"Stefan" - Elena giggled playfully while squirming in his arms. He had his arms wrapped around her, the tips of his fingers scraping her stomach, tickling her, her body pressing next to his. She was lying on top of him, her head buried into his neck, her voice, as she said his name, sent delicious vibrations down his body, all the way to his toes. The pressure of his fingers on her stomach lessened when he buried his face in her hair, smelling the scent of her vanilla shampoo. He pulled his fingers through her messy hair which was still tangled from sleep. When he pulled himself back to reality, and when the scent of her shampoo stopped tingling inside of his nostrils, he started tickling her some more, and he very well knew all the spots on which she was ticklish the most. "Stefan, stop" - she yelled through laughter, trying to remove his hands from her stomach.

He lessened his intensity, which made her pull herself together for a short moment, and she looked up at him. "If you do not stop being so loud, you will wake the girls up" - he warned her while smiling into her direction.

She bit her lower lip. "You make me scream loudly" - she smirked at him, locking her eyes on his.

Stefan pushed her off of him and she fell on the bed next to him. At first, she was surprised, but then he appeared on top of her, supporting himself with his hands which were placed by each side of her body. He was grinning at her.

"Yes Elena, I know, I was here last night too" - there was something about the way he said her name. At this moment, it sounded erotic, like her name was made from lust and want and need, but in the same time, he said it so sweetly, so lovely, like he does not even think about her in sexual way.

She very well remembers how many times she called his name, first silently, like she is trying to keep it inside of her throat, then loudly, like she wants to share it with the world. She also knew how much, her saying his name, basically begging him to do this or that in a certain way, turns him on. She also remembers her loud moans, and both of their panting, and her asking him to have sex with her with a vocabulary she had never used before.

Her relationship with Stefan was nothing but loving, and pure. Even though everything started with sex, it was the first time he ever made love with a stranger, and the first time she made love to a stranger. There was nothing dirty about their first time, especially considering what that first time brought to them. Their first time was induced by deep emotional need and hunger to feel something, anything.

But now, they were free. Both of them were open and ready to enjoy physical pleasures, things that are familiar to them and things they never tried before. Their sexual relationship was a complete contradiction to the relationship they had outside of their bedroom, but both of them enjoyed it. Their bedroom was a complete different world to them, different dimension where they turned into different people who lead different lives. Where Stefan, who was always so protective, was not afraid to be a little bit rougher, and Elena who seemed so fragile, like she's made out of glass, could take a lot more than anyone would have guessed.

He locked his eyes on hers, the same eyes their daughters have, big, brown, so full of light and expectation, eyes always so surprised and curious, like they're waiting for something, and in that moment, she looked so innocent. So innocent he almost did not want to touch her, but then a smile appeared on her face, that half angelic, half devilish smile, and before he knew it, his lips met the skin of her neck.

The smell of her skin was prickling the ending of his nerves. Mmm, Elena, his favorite scent. She smelled like.. sunlight. If sunlight had a smell, it would wear her smell. His tongue tasted her skin, and she trembled. Mmm, Elena, his favorite taste. She tasted like.. sugar, and white chocolate, and cinnamon.

There was something special about her. She smelled and tasted like something he had never experienced, but in the same time, it was so familiar.

The only thing he was wearing were his pajama bottoms. His hard torso was pressing next to her body, her bare skin was divided from his by a thin layer of pink, lacy nightie. She placed her hands on his abs, pulling her palms over his chest, while he was placing the kisses on her skin lower and lower.

"You know, as much as I love seeing you in this" - her murmured into her skin, referring to her nightie - "Now, I'd rather see you without it" - a smile appeared on his face as he pressed his lips on her cleavage. She giggled. He pulled his fingers under the straps of her nightie and pulled them down her arms. He exposed her upper body, her breasts and half of her stomach.

As he started lowering his lips down her body, ignoring her breasts for a moment and concentrating on her flat stomach, a sound came out of the baby monitor, something similar to '_dada_'.

Stefan detached his lips from Elena's skin, and his forehead fell on her stomach. Elena had put her hand on the top of his head and laughed lightly.

"You gotta be kidding me" - he had murmured into her skin. It's like they know. Every time. Every single freaking time.

Elena laughed some more at his comment. "Come on daddy, duty calls" - she tapped him on the shoulders.

He growled, kissing her stomach one more time before jumping off the bed on his feet and disappearing in the hallway.

She could have heard him coming into the girls room and talking to them. Both of them laughed as he approached their cribs, and he talked to them in that silly, baby voice, which was the most adorable thing she had ever heard. He picked both of them in his arms while saying _'no touching daddy's hair' _followed by_ 'what did I say a second ago' _before he appeared in their bedroom. He had put both of them on the bed, and they started crawling towards Elena through the messy covers. Elena took Lara, who was first to crawl to her because she was the faster one, in her hands and kissed her cheek.

"Hey there birthday girl" - she had put the baby on her lap and adjusted here pajama's. Lara laughed out loud trying to catch the fingers of Elena's hand.

Stefan sat on the bed next to Elena and pulled Emily close to him. Emily was trying to catch up with her sister, but was unable too. She did not fuss, but after some time she gave up, and simply sat there in the middle of the bed, and watched her sister in Elena's lap. Emily was always so calm, and so silent, that sometimes, Stefan thought there's something wrong with her. She was too calm for a baby, and he was often worried about her, especially since she was the one who was born so small. But her pediatrician said there is nothing to worry about, she developed properly, and that some babies are simply like that. Especially when it comes to twins, even though they may seem the same, they're completely different. Elena wanted Emily to be stronger, louder, but in the same time she was so fragile and her mother instincts only wanted to protect her. She was so little, she had time, for getting stronger, tougher, louder.

"Can you believe they're one already?" - Elena asked while brushing Lara's hair with her fingers, which Lara did not especially like.

Emily grabbed Stefan's finger and started pulling it, frowning at it, then hitting it. Stefan took her in his arms and placed her on his chest, poking her stomach. She laughed while trying to catch his finger. "No, I really can't."

This year flew by. Sometimes, it seemed like days are never going to end, but now when an actual year went by, all of it seems too fast.

"Caroline will come soon" - Elena said, taking Lara in her arms and lifting herself from the bed - "We should get dressed."

**xxxx**

Lara was running away from Caroline who was trying to tie her hair in a ponytail. She hated getting her hair done, partially because she could not stand being so calm and in place for such a long time. Caroline did Emily's hair with no trouble, handing her over to Elena so she can put her new birthday dress on.

"Where did you go, you little monster?" - Caroline asked with a low and husky voice while walking over the room on the tip of her toes with a brush in her hand. She heard giggling coming from behind the crib. She moved quietly, and when Lara had noticed her, she tried to run away, but Caroline was faster and she caught her, lifting her up in her arms.

"Got you" - she yelled, and Lara fussed in her arms, trying to get away from her. Caroline sat down on the rocking chair and put Lara on her lap, who was fussing more and more. "Come on baby" - Caroline whined - "Look how calm your sister is. Look how pretty she looks!" - this calmed Lara down and she looked at her sister who was sitting calmly on the dressing table while Elena was trying to put her dress on. Caroline used this time to quickly tie Lara's hair in the ponytail, and by the time she was done, Elena was done with dressing Emily, so she took Lara to put a matching, sparkly, princess pink dress on her.

"The dresses are adorable" - Caroline squealed as she lowered herself down to pick Emily, who was pulling the edge of her dress, in her hands.

Elena smiled. "When I saw them in the shop window, I had to buy them" - she said honestly as she remembered the first time she had seen the dresses. They were a little bit pricey, but as soon as she had seen them, she knew the girls will look adorable in them, and she had to buy them.

"Done" - Elena said after she tied a bow on the back of Lara's dress - "Let's go" - she picked her up from the dressing table and followed Caroline who was getting out in the hallway.

Earlier today, Caroline came to their place to help Elena to set it up for the girls birthday party. Stefan took the girls to the park, and his only job was to pick up the cake. In the meantime, Elena and Caroline decorated the apartment, and Caroline helped Elena with what to wear, since she bought several dresses and could not decide which one to wear tonight. Caroline took a short, red velvet dress with puffy sleeves in her hands and smirked at Elena - _"If you wear this, Stefan will lose his mind in the middle of one years old birthday party, which would not be good"_ - Elena giggled. She agreed, that dress would be a little bit too much, and she was sure there is going to be another occasion where she will be able to use it. The next one she took was a comfy, black satin dress that reached under the knee and had short sleeves. Caroline furrowed her brows - _"Do not wear this. Ever"_ - she threw the dress over her shoulder. Now when she got a better look of it, she had no idea why had she bought it. Probably because it was on sale and she was in hurry. It was such a.. mom dress. She cringed. She was not even 30 yet, it was not her time to wear mom dresses. When Caroline reached for the last dress in the bag, a satisfactory smile appeared on her face. She was holding a tight, black dress, which reached a little above the knees and had lacy half sleeves. "This was made for you" - Caroline leaned the dress onto Elena's body - _"And it is sexy enough to tickle Stefan's imagination, but not enough for him to ravish you in front of us all"_ - Caroline winked at her. _"Caroline, I am not dressing up for Stefan but - "_ - Elena defended herself, but Caroline interrupted her in the middle of her sentence - _"But for yourself, I know"_ - she rolled her eyes - _"That is what all women say. And it is partially true. But you dress for other people too, even if you're not aware of it, or if you don't want to admit it to yourself." _Elena had learned that most of the times, Caroline was right. Especially when it came to clothes. When Stefan came home, Elena and Caroline took over the girls so he can start preparing dinner.

When Rose noticed Elena and Caroline coming in the room with the twins, she ran immediately into their direction. Rose seemed fascinated with the girls, and Damon would bring her over frequently so she can play with them. Elena took that as a que Rose would really like a sibling, but Stefan said Damon and Bonnie are in no hurry to have another child. Stefan also told Elena the girls took a lot after his mother, from her hair to her nose, and Elena knew it's true because she could see the way Damon looked at them when he came over.

Caroline and Elena sat the girls on their blanket so Rose can play with them. Rose treated them special, differently from the adults. She even had a way of making Lara sit on the spot and not fuss when she had to wait to get something she wanted.

Caroline hurried over and made herself comfortable in Tyler's lap. They were having a long distance relationship, with her being here in Mystic Falls, and him being in Los Angeles. But both of them traveled frequently and sometimes their destinations would match. They tried to see each other as often as they could. They were really trying to make it work, and Stefan was as glad as much as he was surprised, because this was the first relationship Caroline was willing to put so much effort in.

Damon and Bonnie were there, sitting next to them, looking like any comfortably married couple would. Next to them was Lexi, and Stefan was often worried about her and her lack of interest in having a love life, but then he had remembered himself two years ago and realized these things come when you expect them the least.

Jenna and Jeremy were not able to make it to the party, but they had promised they will be there sometime next week.

Elena made her way to Stefan and sat on his lap, putting her arms around his neck and kissing him on the cheek. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, whispering into her ear - "You look amazing." She smiled as she put her finger under his chin to lift his head up and kissed him on the lips, gently and lightly.

As soon as they got comfortable with each other, Lara had noticed that, got up on her feet and hurried in their direction. Stefan had put his hands on Elena's hips and lifted her up from his lap so Lara can climb on it.

Elena smiled and rolled her eyes at Lara's possessiveness of Stefan, so she walked over to the blanket where Rose, Caroline and Bonnie were surrounding Emily.

There was a knock on the door. Stefan and Elena exchanged confused looks.

"Don't look at me, everyone I know are in this room" - she furrowed her brows slightly.

"I'll get it" - Stefan took Lara in his arms as he got on his feet and started walking towards the front door.

He turned the doorknob and the front door fell open. His eyes widened.

"Katherine" - escaped his throat.

**xxxx**

**A/N: I separated this chapter into two parts, so there will be one chapter more than I intended.**


	25. Surprise Pt 2

_Katherine._

The name was buzzing inside of Elena's head. Katherine, as in Stefan's ex. As in the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. As in the woman who had hurt him so much. As in the woman who had so much power over him that she had managed to break him.

Katherine, as is someone who she feared even though she had never met her, and she hoped she never will. As in the woman who could steal Stefan away from her. As in the woman Stefan would gladly follow.

She took Emily in her hands and placed her in her lap. She had to have something close to her, something familiar, something that was connecting her to Stefan and always will be. She could have felt Bonnie's glare on her. It was piercing through her, and it was physically painful, because she could have sworn Bonnie is taking pity of her. Like Stefan is already standing with his bag on his shoulder on the front door, prepared to leave everything they have been building through these past two years.

She was ice cold. She pulled Emily closer to her, planting a kiss on the top of her head, and ruffling the skirt of her dress. The floor was too hard and too cold. Her spine was hurting. Her head was hurting. Her whole body was aching. She raised herself on her own two feet, bringing Emily with her. Emily threw her arms around Elena's neck, squeezing her, like she could feel how tense her mother is.

Over Stefan's tensed shoulders she glanced at Katherine. She was more beautiful than that one picture Elena had seen of her gave her the credit. Hell, she was more beautiful than Stefan's words gave her the credit, and she thought he's exaggerating. Her skin was silky smooth, and under the bright light pouring down on her from the kitchen, she looked like she's made out of porcelain. She had deep, dark, brown eyes which were cat like, as well as the smirk on her face - she was beautiful, but there was something devilish about her face, and the way she smiled, and the way she looked at Stefan. She had big, dark curls bouncing on her shoulders, touching her red cheeks. She was slim, very slim, so slim Elena felt Katherine's body could fit into hers twice. But she was not ugly skinny, she had no fat, but she had curves on all the right places.

Elena could not look at her anymore, she was afraid Katherine will feel the intensity of her look, so she would have to make an eye contact with her. And now, she did not want anyone looking into her eyes and noticing the fear behind them. Emily pulled herself back from Elena and put her hands on her mother's face, squeezing her cheeks and making silent, bubbly sound. Elena smiled at her, even though she felt like crying. For a moment, her eyes locked with Caroline's, but unlike Bonnie, he had no pity in her look, but fear. Elena was not sure is Caroline's fear coming from the same place hers is coming from.

Stefan was buried into place. He could not look into Katherine. He could not look away. He was too afraid of Elena's stare, of the questionable expression on everyone's face. Lara was pressing next to him. Katherine had a devilish smirk on her face - borderline psychotic. That was the only thing he never liked about her, her ability to scare people by curving her lips. She never smiled at him like that before. The smile she directed to him was always gentle, and now he wondered was that smile real, or had she faked it for his sake.

She looked amazing. Better than he had remembered her. When she left, he tried to block her from his mind, so he blocked out the way she looked too. She always had a light complexion, and now she actually had a tan, so he wondered where did her and Elijah actually go.

Katherine's smirk was replaced by a confused face expression when her look fell on the baby in his arms. She frowned. Lara had her hands on Stefan's arm, her head resting on his shoulders, her look locked on Katherine.

Katherine did not recognize the eyes on the child, but the lines on the baby's face were very well known to her. The shape of her lips, her jaw, her forehead - it was all Stefan. She was flooded with jealousy, and regret, and anger. Because he had moved on so fast.

Katherine kept frowned expression on her face until Caroline made her appearance. She had appeared by Stefan's side, glancing at Katherine but refusing to make a full eye contact with her, and took the baby out of Stefan's arms. Stefan looked at her thankfully before she went away, and before Katherine had a chance to look at all of the people in the room, Stefan pushed her outside in the hallway, and pushed the door closed behind them.

She looked at the door behind his shoulder and furrowed her brows. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" - her look fell on his as she asked with the sweetest voice possible.

Stefan crossed his arms on his chest, and the weight of his look on her was too hard. "No" - he said. There was not a bit of emotion in his voice, of any kind. He was completely numb to her presence. She was not used to that voice of tone coming from him, and she wished he would show any kind of emotion, even if it's anger. "Why are you here, Katherine?" - he asked while wrapping his arms around himself, his muscles tightening.

A seductive smile appeared on her face and she made one step closer to him, which made him tense some more. "You" - she said, batting her eyelashes.

An entertaining smirk appeared on his face, and he released a silent huff. "Where is Elijah?" - a smirk disappeared, and his face was serious, his eyes flashing with rage.

Katherine lowered her look at the ground. "At work" - she raised her look and met Stefan's, which was full of surprise and.. fear? "In North Dakota" - Katherine finished her sentence, and all the worry from Stefan's face disappeared. He did not want to face his ex friend now, or ever again for that matter. "So.." - Katherine prolonged that little word, making it slide down her tongue.

"Katherine, I am kind of busy, we have guests" - Stefan said, wanting to get rid of her, to go back inside, to see how Elena is doing, to comfort her if she's sad, or worried, or self conscious. He did not want to think of Elena's feelings at the moment, because he wanted to stay completely cool in front of Katherine, and thinking about what's going through Elena's head made him want to go inside this very instant. Which is why he wanted to deal with Katherine as soon as possible, because he knew the longer he stays out there with her, the worse Elena's thoughts are going to be.

"We?" - Katherine said, disappointment obvious in her voice.

Stefan cleared his throat through a cough. "Yes, me and my - "

"Is she yours?" - Katherine interrupted him before he had a chance to finish his sentence. "The baby, is it yours?" - she asked with a husky voice.

Stefan exhaled deeply, moving his look away from Katherine's face. "Yes, she is" - a light smile appeared on his face as he said those words, from the sheer memory of actually having children.

"Can we talk?" - she asked, her voice was so desperate - "Please" - she begged him.

He looked at her eyes, which were glossy. He wanted some answers. More like he deserved them. Not because he needed them in order to move on, but to satisfy his own curiosity.

"Tomorrow, 9am, at Larry's" - Stefan said before turning around and disappearing behind the front door of his apartment.

**xxxx**

They decided to continue with the party like nothing had happened. Like Stefan's former fiance did not just knock on his door during a one years old birthday party. Caroline and Lexi kept sending Stefan positive looks, looks full of comfort and positivism. Elena smiled into his direction few times, but whenever he tried to get close to her, she would move away from him. This whole thing had been a little bit too much for her. Rose asked who was the lady that made everyone so quiet, but Damon told her to be quiet. Rose was probably too young to remember Katherine.

The girls fell asleep about an hour before everyone left. Caroline offered herself to stay and help them clean, but Stefan said that won't be necessary, indicating with his look him and Elena need some time alone now.

As soon as the last guest walked out of the door, Elena started collecting dirty dishes from the table to put them in a dishwasher.

"Elena" - Stefan said her name carefully, silently, gently, like saying it in any other way would break her.

"So, that's Katherine" - Elena said calmly while putting the dishes in the dishwasher. She was not angry, or disappointed, or sad, but she wasn't happy either. She knew he did nothing wrong. She was not blaming him for anything. But she was scared, no matter how irrational that fear may be.

"I did not know she will come here" - he said, like he's trying to defend himself - "Hell, I did not even know she's in town. I did not even want to see her" - he tried to find more words but they turned out to be unnecessary when he had noticed her confused face expression.

Does he really think she blames him for anything? She made few steps forward and took his hands in hers. "I know" - a light, sympathetic smile appeared on her face - "You do not have to defend yourself for her showing up at our door" - she squeezed his hands.

He should have known. Sometimes, he freaks out. He's so afraid of losing her, that every time a threat appears, he creates a scenario in his head where his worst fear comes true. He should have known she loves him enough and trusts him enough not to think he knew about her return in any way.

"But she is your ex" - Elena continued - "You were about to marry her. It is not that I don't trust you" - her grip on his hands lessened - "I do not trust other people" - she stated.

"I told her I'd meet her tomorrow" - he blurted out. Fuck, he was planning a whole other approach with this. It is not easy to tell your girlfriend you're going to grab a cup of coffee with your ex fiance. It should not be easy, and the words simply rolled of his tongue.

She pulled her hands back and frowned. "What?" - she asked angrily, through her teeth.

Her showing up unexpectedly at their doorstep was one thing, but him agreeing to spend time with her was a completely other story. "You do not own her anything" - Elena tried to keep her emotions in check and her voice lowered so she doesn't wake up the girls.

Stefan shook his head. "But I owe it to myself" - he locked his eyes on hers, determined not to let her break their eye contact - "I need to know why" - he tried to keep calm, but the accusatory look in her eyes, mixed with sadness and anger was making it hard for him.

"So you can move on?" - her voice was breaking, skipping a beat - "I thought you already did, with me" - she said with a husky voice, barely pronouncing the last part of the sentence out loud.

She looked like he had slapped her across the face. There were tears in her eyes waiting to break free every minute now.

"I did" - he said truthfully - "But I need to know what I did wrong so I don't do it again" - he said gently because he did not want to push her over her breaking point.

She looked into his eyes, eyes hers never left, not even for a second, and all she could see is pain. He never had his closure. He maybe moved on, found something else, something different, better, but he never found out why, what they had, broke. And until he does, he will keep blaming himself. And she did not want that for him. She did not want a lifetime of asking himself where had he gone wrong and worrying he will do it again, for him.

"Fine" - she said, and his eyes lit up.

"Fine?" - he asked to confirm it.

She nodded.

"But you do not like it?" - he asked, sighing.

"I hate it" - she said, before smiling in his direction - "But I love you."

**xxxx**

Stefan was sitting on his usual spot at Larry's, waiting for Katherine to arrive. It was fifteen minutes after nine. She was running late, so typical of her.

Even though yesterday Elena had accepted the fact he is going to meet Katherine, this morning, when he was about to leave, she was not in the mood for anything. When he kissed her goodbye, she did not kiss him back. When he said goodbye before stepping outside of the apartment, she waved at him, uninterested.

Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he should have never agreed on meeting her.

It's too late now, anyway.

The door of the coffee shop opened and Katherine walked in. She was wearing black, leather pants, spiky high heels and an ordinary black tank top over which she had a low cut leather jacket. She hasn't changed one bit. Her hair was the same, as well as her style, and the way she walked. When she walked into the room, she looked around herself to make sure all the eyes are on her. Afterwards, a satisfying smirk would appear on her face, like the one she had now.

Her look fell on the table she knew he would be sitting by, so she slowly, and elegantly, walked over to him. She smiled at him as she pulled a chair out, and sat on it. She placed her order with the waitress who kept looking at her like she's from another planet.

"What are we doing here?" - Stefan placed his hands on the table and lowered his body closer to her.

"Talking" - she giggled at her wittiness.

"And what are we talking about?" - he was not amused, and it was apparent in his voice.

"Us" - she leaned against a comfy, red leather chair.

"There is no us to talk about" - he said instantly.

She rolled her eyes. "I've missed you" - she smiled at him, with her beautiful smile, the one she used to give only to him while they were together.

"I've missed you too" - he said, and a glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes. That beautiful smile turned into a devilish smirk. "Then, at one point, I've stopped missing you" - and just like that, a victorious smirk disappeared from her face. "I've met someone who.." - Stefan was trying to find appropriate word that separated Elena from Katherine. It would be too cruel to say _'who loved me more than you ever did'_, because he knew Katherine loved him. "Who understood me better than you ever could. Than anyone ever could" - he corrected himself, pointing out how special Elena is to him, not only compared to her, but to everyone else. "Weren't you happy with Elijah?" - he asked curiously.

Katherine's expression was serious and the lines of her face hard. Things with Elijah obviously didn't go as she had planned. Do affairs ever end well? Maybe, in some rare cases. Mostly, they crash and burn.

"What is her name?" - she decided to dismiss the question regarding Elijah.

"Who's?" - he furrowed his brows.

"Your wife's" - corners of her mouth went upward.

"Elena" - Stefan decided there is no need to correct her and tell her Elena is not his wife. It was none of Katherine's business, and it would only make her ask a lot of questions, pointing out how he never wanted this life. But he always did, he simply got it in a different way and order than he thought he would.

"And how old is your daughter?" - she asked sincerely, or so it seemed to him.

"Daughters, actually" - he corrected her - "We have twins" - as he said so, her eyes grew wider. "They turned one yesterday" - he finally answered her question, proudly.

"Are you happy?" - she asked with a teary voice.

"Immensely" - he said truthfully. Because he was. Happier than he's ever been.

"Then you will be happy to know I'm not staying in town" - she smiled painfully as she looked at the ground.

"I need to know why, Katherine" - he said, and his voice was like a razor blade cutting through the air, which was enough to raise her head back up. "We were happy. At least I thought we were. I just need to know why would you throw everything we had away?" - he was curious, and expectant of her answer.

She inhaled deeply. "We were happy. I was happy with you. You made me extremely happy" - she said honestly while locking her eyes on his - "But I had a feeling like I was stuck in a life that was developing too fast for me. We had all the time in the world, and you were always hurrying somewhere. To get married, to start a family, have children.. I could see myself where you are now. If I stayed, this would be my life. Being a wife, being a mom. And I was not ready for that" - she explained, and he felt.. relieved.

"Thank you, Katherine" - he threw twenty bucks on the table, got up from the chair, put his jacket on, and before he left, he looked at her and said - "Have a nice life. I hope you find everything you're looking for."

**xxxx**

Before he went through the front door of their apartment, he checked his wrist watch. It was 2pm, and he knew he got held up longer than he intended to, and that Elena will not be glad for that.

The first thing he saw when he walked in was Elena sitting on the couch, watching some movie. Girls were nowhere to be seen, so he concluded she must have had put them for a nap. He felt guilty for leaving her and the girls alone for the whole morning on his free day.

"Date went well?" - she asked, not moving her look away from the screen. He could not tell is she mad, or is she teasing him. He walked over to the couch. "You were gone for quite some time, so you must have had fun" - she said as he sat down on the couch next to her.

Her face was dead serious. She was not mad, or angry. He tried to find the trace of tears on her face, but there wasn't one. She was not even crying. She was simply.. serious. Like she was tired of feeling anything about this subject. Maybe she realized she has nothing to worry about, or maybe she was numb to the whole thing.

"I know, I'm sorry" - he said, feeling an extra ounce of guilt for being so far away from home for so long.

"Do you have the answers you were looking for?" - she asked, not looking at him, not even once. Her look was still glued to the screen.

"Yes."

Now she turned her head around. Her cheeks were red, and her look was curious. "Oh?" - silently escaped her lips.

He nodded. "She was scared of.. of having this" - he looked around before moving his look back at her - "Of having a family. Of being someone's wife, someone's mother" - he clapped with the palms of his hands.

Her eyes were wide, locked on his face, on his eyes, and his lips. "But why cheat on you? Why not simply break it off?" - she asked curiously. She never did understand cheaters. Why hurt, and disrespect someone like that? If you want out, cheating is not a solution, letting that person go is.

"She said she panicked. I guess she was scared of being alone, but what I wanted from her was too much for her to give."

Elena smiled at him, even though she did not know the cause of that smile. Maybe because she was in the place Katherine was supposed to be. Or maybe she's in this place now because she was always supposed to be in it, not Katherine. She was simply a device to make that clear.

"But you did" - he took her hand in his - "You gave me everything I ever wanted. Family, love, happiness.. home" - he squeezed her hand, caressing the top of her hand with his thumb.

"No" - she shook her head - "We had built it together" - she smiled at him. "As much as I gave you everything you wanted, you did the same for me."

His eyes were glossy, and they smiled alongside his lips.

"I love you" - he said, and he felt like he's saying it for the first time, and her heart played like she's hearing it for the first time. "Which is why it took me so long to come home."

She furrowed her brows and gave him a confused look.

He had let go of her hand and reached for his pocket.

"I was with Katherine for fifteen minutes only" - he said as he looked down at his hand - "And after she told me how afraid she was, I realized you never were. You were always so strong. For yourself, for our children, there were times when you were even strong for me. And even though when the thought of falling in love again scared you, you gave it a chance. You gave me a chance, you gave us a chance" - a little black box was sitting on his palm, making her nervous. "When you told me you're pregnant, I kept asking myself, how did I allow this to happen? I kept thinking this is not how my life was supposed to turn out. But with time, I've realized, I did not allow anything to happen, it was supposed to happen. I've always wanted you, and how our relationship started, it really doesn't matter, because it doesn't make a difference. I'm where I always wanted to be. Where I'm supposed to be. When I'm with you, I'm home" - he raised his look from his palm to her face, where he caught her nervous look. She was biting her lower lip. "I know we said we're going to take our time, but why? I found the person I know I'm going to spend the rest of my life with" - he got from the couch and knelt down in front of her. She was following his movements with her expectant look. He opened the little black box, and her look fell on a precious diamond ring in it. "I spent hours in various jewelry stores" - he said, taking the ring out of the box - "Only when I finally stumbled on something as perfect as you, is when I had known my search is over" - he took her hand in his, caressing it with his thumb - "Even though there is not a thing in this world that could compare to your beauty or grace. You're more precious than any diamond, which is why it would be my honor to make you my wife" - he looked into her eyes, expecting her response.

She had tears in her eyes. She was so not prepared for this. Her hair was tied into a messy bun, and she was wearing sweatpants and Stefan's hoodie. She knew he doesn't care how she looks like. She could have been dressed in rags and he would see nothing but her beauty. It was part of who Stefan was. Even when she was a beggar, he treated her like a queen.

"The honor is all mine, Mr. Salvatore" - she said, releasing a first tear which fell down her cheek and disappeared in the corner of her lips as she smiled.

He smiled back at her as he slid a ring down her finger. She looked down at her finger, and a sight of a ring on it was stranger, but somehow, she was sure she's going to get used to it.

She threw her arms around his neck and started playing with his hair. She was looking at him with so much.. love. There was no other word for it.. it was simply love. So simple, but yet so complicated.

"What is it?" - he asked, the intensity of her look pressing his being.

"Thank you" - she caressed his face with her look.

"For what?" - he asked curiously.

"For making me the happiest person alive" - she said before she pulled him into a passionate kiss.

They were trapped in their own little world. In a pawnshop of madness. She was a broken doll, and he was her artisan. He opened her up and with much needed gentleness, fixed the most important casters of her machine, teaching her how to smile again.

Years later, Emily asked, _"Daddy, do fairytales come true?"_, and Stefan looked at his wife who was braiding the hair of their other daughter, and after looking back at Emily, he replied - _"Only if you believe in them."_

**xxxx**

**Only one more chapter left, which will be an epilogue.**

**I'd really like to tell you something optimistic about the show, but I'm afraid I do not have any optimistic words. I think this is when our curtain goes down, at least for some time, if not forever. But you need to remember - you have to love your otp even when they're at their lowest, because that is when they need you the most. If there is one thing Stelena had taught me, it is to never lose hope, and to never give up.**


	26. Epilogue

**7 years later..**

"Daddy!" - Lara screamed while wiggling in Stefan's arms.

Stefan took the girls to the toy store, like he had promised in the beginning of this school year. If they finish the school year with straight A's, they will be able to choose any toy they want to buy. Emily picked a series of books she's been talking about for a long time now, but Stefan did not count books as toys, so he had practically begged her to choose an actual toy. In the end, she chose a teddy bear which will end up on the shelf with the rest of her toys, collecting dust, because she is a book worm. After all, she is her mothers daughter.

Lara was a little less humble than her sister, and asked for some doll that is basically the same size as her, and she walks, talks, cries and according to Lara it is the most amazing toy in the history of toys ever. Stefan only knew he payed a bunch of money for a pile of plastic crap with all functions of a human baby.

Stefan opened the back door of their SUV, and just as Lara unbuckled her seat belt, he had put his hands under her armpits and pulled her out of the car.

"I'm too old to be carried!" - she tried to wiggle out of her father's grip.

"I'm sorry lady Lara" - Stefan faked his apology as he lowered his daughter on the ground - "I truly hope I did not mess up your pigtails" - he willed a worried expression to his face.

These days, Lara was obsessed with being grown up and independent, which Stefan did not like at all. She was his 8 year old daughter, she had all of the time in the world. Her constant hurry to grow up was alarming, and it made him panic, because he was very well aware, before he knows it, she will be buying her first bra, and go on dates, and stop thinking about what she wants to be when she grows up because she will be all grown up. And he will stop being _'daddy'_, and become that guy who used to buy her fully functioned dolls when she was 8, but now waits in front of the window five minutes before her curfew.

Lara fixed the ruffles on her dress, and lifted her pouty look only to meet her father's worried face. She had put her hands on the top of her head, tapped a few times, until she found the pigtails, and after she convinced herself they're perfectly fine, a wide smile appeared on her face. "No daddy, they're perfectly fine" - she turned around on her heel and from the car seat grabbed a massive box in which her doll was placed and started walking towards the house.

Stefan watched her go into the house, after barely managing to open the front door. He turned his head around only to see Emily having a hard time carrying all of the ten books she had choose to buy, alongside with the teddy bear he had made her pick.

"Come on, princess" - he said, stretching his hand out for Emily to hold on to. She smiled gently at him and put her hand in his, and he pulled her out of the car.

Stefan and Emily had a special kind of a relationship, a special kind of understanding. Even though they look the same, Lara and Emily grew up to be pretty much completely different people. Lara was quick on her words, and she was not afraid to say every single thing on her mind. She knew to be quite mean when she wanted to be, and she knew her parents, especially her father, have problems with saying _no_ to either of them, and she was using that fact to extreme limits. She was a typical girly girl, doing her hair and wearing dresses, trying to make Elena let her wear make up. Elena was able to satisfy her curiosity with nail polish and little bit of lip gloss, but she was unsure how long that will last since Lara was very persistent. Both Stefan and Elena were aware Lara is spoiled, maybe a little bit too much, and even Elena had problems with her, while Stefan knew how to handle her perfectly. Lara was so much like Stefan, especially when he was a kid. And Emily, she seemed to be a copy of her mother. Unlike her sister, who was always tying her long, brown hair in buns and tails, Emily wore her hair down, her curls jumping on her back. She hated wearing dresses and skirts, and she felt much more comfortable in plain trousers and shirts, even though she had admitted to Elena that in special occasions, she likes to dress up. She had a lot in common with her mother, Elena understood her better than anyone. But for Stefan, it was like experiencing one part of Elena he had never experienced before. He always took interest in her point of view and her taste, and was surprised with how mature she was for her age. Emily loved both of her parents, but her relationship with her mother was so easy and laid back, while her relationship with Stefan represented some sort of a challenge, since their opinions often drifted apart. But there was something between them that made both of them accept the other one's opinion, and the only reason why it was special is because for both of them, it was hard doing the same with other people. Which is probably why Emily had let her father call her nicknames like princess, pumpkin, sweetie, since she hated nicknames.

"Thanks, daddy" - she smiled at him as she hopped from the car on the ground, carrying the bag with ten heavy books into the house.

Stefan took the groceries out of the car's trunk before heading to the house himself. They were hosting a barbecue for the first day of the summer, so Stefan started walking towards the backyard, from where he had heard Lara's excited voice. When he came to the backyard, Elena was setting the table, and Lara was showing of her new doll that was still trapped in a box. She had a light smile on her face while listening her daughter ramble about a toy she will most likely forget in a month.

Elena felt a set of familiar eyes on her, so she turned around only to see her husband leaning against a glass, slide door leading to their backyard. He was smirking at her as he watched her, following her every movement with his own pair of eyes. She could have felt them ramming all over her body, and it made her feel giggly, because every time he would look at her, he would make her feel wanted, even after all these years.

Elena went back to college not long after girls had turned one. Stefan was very supportive, everyone were. She wanted to continue working, but Stefan wouldn't hear of it, saying it would be too much. So she kept juggling only two balls in her hands, being a student and being a mother, and after some time she had realized working would really be a little bit too much. She also very well knew she will take her rezidentship in the Mystic Falls hospital. When the girls were about three, they bought a house in the same neighborhood Damon and Bonnie lived in. It was a nice, comfy, 5 bedroom house with a huge backyard where Stefan had installed a playground for the girls. They were nagging to get a dog since forever, but both Stefan and Elena refused, since they very well knew the responsibility of taking care of a dog would eventually fall on them.

"So you robbed your father again?" - Elena asked through a light laugh after Lara had finished her story about the doll she had just got. Lara looked at Stefan who was smirking at both of them.

"Daddy almost made me buy it" - Lara rolled her eyes, putting her hands on her hips.

Stefan laughed and started walking towards them. "Oh yes, I did a lot of begging to buy a $200 worth of plastic" - he had put his hand on Elena's back and locked his lips on hers, making her shiver with delight. Even after all these years, even after countless of kisses, he could still make her feel like he's kissing her for the first time.

Elena was about to make a comment about the amount of money he had spend on a toy, but was interrupted by Lara's loud '_ewwww_'.

"Why do you keep on sucking mommy's face like that?" - she asked, frowning. Lara always had countless of questions. Even the things she did understand, she asked about them to check if she's right.

Elena rested her head on Stefan's shoulder and let him have this one. He smiled lightly before answering his daughter - "Because I love her."

Lara frowned some more, confused by her father's answer, but clearly pondering on what she should say next. "Should I be sucking on the faces of people I love?"

Stefan almost lost his air, but Elena giggled. "Not until you're much older" - she answered her daughter.

Stefan poked her hip with his elbow, clearing his throat with a cough. "Much, much older" - he glared at his wife who was pretending not to feel his look on her - "Like, 40" - he said. Elena laughed and lifted her head off his shoulder. She had put her hands on his waist, climbing on the tip of her toes, and before giving him a small peck on the lips, she said - "Some things are worth waiting for."

**xxxx**

"Oh my God, Elena! You're huge!" - Caroline blurted out as Elena sat herself by the table with a bowl of salad in her hands. While she was trying to sit down on a comfortable garden chair with a big, white cushion, her five month old baby bump scraped the edge of the table.

Stefan and Elena were planning to get another child, and they started about a year ago. Both of them wanted a big family, and after Elena got her diploma and started her rezidentship, they decided now's the right time. They were trying for 5 months before she got pregnant, and she was fairly worried it took them that long to make a baby. She thought it will take them two months tops, and when after 5 months of trying she was still not carrying a child, she insisted they take fertility test. When the results came, not only the doctor told them there's everything perfectly fine with them, but he also told them she's pregnant. It probably took them so long to get pregnant because she was expecting it, and when it did not happen as soon as she had hoped, she started panicking, and the stress of not being able to get pregnant prevented her from getting pregnant.

Elena really was petite, and when she was pregnant for the first time, people told her that is the reason why she looks so big so early in her pregnancy. But then boom, twins.

She furrowed her brows and put her teeth in front of her lower lip, biting it lightly - "Stefan, I swear, if you got me pregnant with twins again.." - she threatened him. She looked at him seriously while holding one of her hands on her baby bump, and he flinched. Caroline giggled lightly.

Elena loved her daughters, and she would not change them for anything in the world. But she can't go through having twins again.

Stefan had noticed Elena's slightly bigger baby bump than it should be in the the second month of the second trimester, but how to tell your wife she looks bigger than she's supposed to? Her hormones are running wild, she would probably kill him in his sleep if he ever said something like that.

"Well, we're going to find out next week" - Stefan said nervously, half glancing at Elena who was still frowning, and half locking her look in Caroline who was holding Tyler's hand tightly on the table.

Caroline and Tyler got engaged more than a year ago, and they're soon to be married. They were working hard on their relationship, but they have managed to work it out. They made it.

Lexi was dating Matt, one of their medical technicians, and from the looks of it, it was becoming serious.

Bonnie was holding their two year old baby boy, trying to feed him, but the only thing he wanted to do is to follow his big sister who was standing behind Lara's chair, breading her hair. Lara had come a long way, from a baby who did not like her hair being touched, to a girl who loved getting her hair done.

"The only thing we're going to find out is that I'm carrying a perfectly healthy baby boy" - Elena said determined.

"A boy?" - Bonnie asked excitedly. It would be nice to have another boy in the family.

Elena nodded. "We're not sure, Stefan wants it to be a surprise" - Elena rolled her eyes. She had enough surprise in her life. "But I think it's a boy" - a wide smile appeared on her face. She hoped it's a boy. A boy with his eyes, and his hair, and his smile. With his heart, and sense of humor, and goodness behind his eyes.

"Wait" - Lara made her presence known. Everyone looked at the girl who was sitting on the chair by the edge of the table, eating her french fries. "What do you mean he got you pregnant?" - she asked confused, furrowing her brows.

There was silence around the table. Not this conversation, not now, Elena damned herself for her choice of words.

"Well.." - Elena looked at Stefan who was staring at Lara. She knew how much her daughter's curiosity had bugged Stefan, especially these kind of questions. He felt like her innocence is being stripped away from her. "Daddy puts a baby in mommy's tummy" - Elena said, completely unprepared to have this conversation now.

Confusion was evident on Lara's face more than ever now. She furrowed her brows some more, wiggling her lips, before shaping them in the letter o. "How does he put it there?" - she asked, making all of the adults by the table gasp. Rose giggled at her cousin's curiosity, and the inability of adults to answer her question, because she had remembered her father trying to explain to her from where do babies come from, not so long ago.

Emily had made a loud gasp. She was sitting in a chair by the poll with her legs crossed, reading a book. Stefan wondered how can she concentrate on the book when all of them were making such a noise. Emily could read no matter where she was, and no matter with how many people she was surrounded.

"A man and a woman have a sexual intercourse, and when the man's sperm gets to the woman's egg, it fertilizes it, and that's how the baby is made. First it's a size of a bean, but over the course of 9 months, it grows" - Emily said without lifting her look up from the book - "God Lara, don't you know anything?" - she laughed mockingly at her sister.

Stefan looked at his daughter in awe and swallowed.

"How the hell does your 8 year old daughter know all of that?" - Damon asked before taking a sip of the beer from the bottle.

"I had nothing to read few weeks ago, so I took one of the mommy's books from the shelf" - she said as if what she read is perfectly normal and understandable for an 8 year old.

Lara huffed. "Freak" - she said spitefully.

Emily furrowed her brows. Like all the siblings, Lara and Emily had their quarrels. They rarely played with each other, they haven't done such a thing since they were babies. Since Lara could boss Emily around. But with time, Emily learned how to stand up for herself.

"You're shallow" - Emily made a comeback.

"Who even uses these words?" - Lara shouted back at her - "This is why you have no friends."

Emily twitched a little, but she did not say anything. She tried to pretend her sister's words did not hurt her, so she buried herself back in the book.

"Lara" - Stefan said her name sharply - "That would be enough" - he hissed through his teeth, clearly unsatisfied with her behavior.

Emily had closed her book loudly, jumped off the chair and headed to the house.

Lara was always surrounded by people, she knew how to make herself the center of attention. Emily did not want to, she was okay with being unnoticed by others.

A painful expression appeared on Lara's face, since she did not like her father yelling, or disapproving of her.

Elena was about to get up to go and check on Emily, but Stefan had stopped her, indicating he will take care of it.

He walked from the table into the house, finding Emily sprawled on the couch, reading a book. She pretended she can't see him. She would always do that when she was angry or hurt. Run away into her own little world where no one could follow, where she could be alone with her thoughts and deal with problems the way she wanted to.

"Hey" - Stefan sat on the couch next to her, patting her knee.

"Hey" - she said, barely paying attention to him.

There were tears in the corners of her eyes, and her cheeks were rosy red. Her curls were glued to her face, and her lips were shaped into a pout. She was trying her best not to cry.

"The things your sister says, she doesn't mean the half of them" - Stefan finally says.

Emily was fine with being alone for quite some time. She knew how to have fun by herself. But now, as she's growing up, some things are starting to bother her, and she came to realize she is in need of a friend. Someone who isn't her parent. Her mother was probably her best friend.

Emily closed her book and set it on the table. She lifted her head up and looked her father in the eyes. "I always had a feeling you love her more" - she said with a teary voice - "Both you and mom. Like you're more proud of her, because I'm such a disappointment."

There are several situations in your life when you can feel like your heart is breaking into two. Your child accusing you of not loving them, or loving their sibling more, is one of those situations. He could not understand why would she ever think they're more proud of her sister than of her.

"Why in the name of God would you think you're a disappointment to us?" - he asked with a husky voice, pain evident in it.

Emily scratched her arm with the fingers of her hand before pushing a strain of her hair behind her ear. "Because I grew up too fast.." - she lowered her look.

"I grew up too fast too" - Stefan said with a kind and gentle voice, which made Emily raise her look up instantly, and look at him curiously. "My mom died when I was born, and my dad never got over it. I was a child for as long as I was thanks to your uncle Damon, he took care of me, but he was a child himself" - he locked his eyes on Emily's curious ones, she was looking at him like this new piece of information is a precious discovery she had made - "I had to grow up early, but you don't. I am not disappointed in you, and neither is your mother. We could never be disappointed in you for being extraordinary. All I ever wanted is to give you a childhood you could remember fondly, and how you choose to do it is up to you."

Emily got on her knees and crawled to her father, throwing her arms around his neck and planting a kiss on his cheek. "You gave me everything I need, dad. Even more" - she had put her head on his shoulder.

Stefan felt relieved. He had hugged his daughter back before both of them went back outside with a smile on their faces.

**xxxx**

"We really need to keep an eye on Emily and her reading habits" - Stefan said as he handed a glass of ice tea over to Elena - "Next thing we know she will start going through your cookbooks and try to make that awful spinach pie you once made" - he laughed lightly.

Elena took a pillow that was laying on the couch next to her and threw it at him, but he had caught it in the mid air, before it even had a chance to hit his body. "I will blame this one on your raging hormones" - he had winked at her, but the only thing he had managed to do is to irritate her more. She took another pillow and threw it at him, and this one bounced of his chest. He laughed as he bent down to pick up the pillow. "Now, now, let's not be hasty" - he placed the pillows back to where they were - "You do not want to cripple the father of your children" - he made himself comfortable on a seat next to her.

"My spinach pie was not that awful" - she pouted.

"Elena, not even the neighbors dog wanted to eat it" - he laughed while poking her arm, trying to cheer her up.

She turned her head around to look at him. "Well, I'm sorry I'm not as good as you, god of cooking" - she rolled her eyes at him.

"According to the other night, if I remember correctly, I was the god of something which was not cooking" - he cocked his eyebrow at her. She had placed her drink on the coffee table before he came closer to her. His lips were lingering above hers.

"Well someone is being cocky" - she raised her eyebrow at him. He could feel her warm breath on his face.

"Hey, you were the one yelling '_Stefan, oh Stefan, you're a god of.._'" - he impersonated her voice. She blushed. Yes, she very well remembered her embarrassing statement from the other night she had made in the moment of passion. "What am I a god of, Elena?" - he finally lowered his lips on hers and gave her a small peck. "Tell me" - he lowered his lips on her neck, leaving short and salty kisses on her skin.

For a moment there she thought she had left her body, because the feeling of his lips on her skin was divine. It was like an out of body experience, it was happening to her, but it was like she had jumped out of her skin.

He knew all the right places. He always did.

"Okay" - she finally said, raising her voice a little - "Sex, you're god of sex" - she said breathlessly, which made him raise his head. He had a delicious smirk on his face. "You rock my world, when you're done with me, I feel like my whole body is falling apart" - she complimented him truthfully.

"Oh Elena, stop it" - he said like he did not lead her purposely to saying those words out loud, even though he very well knew what she thinks about his abilities in bed. She had hit him on the shoulder while laughing lightly. "Oh, and for the record, I'm never done with you" - he had winked at her before going back for her neck.

Her body exploded. But it was a good kind of explosion. Kind that was prickling endings of every nerve in her body. It was like smelling your favorite scent. Or like, when you're craving chocolate, and you finally have it, the tip of your tongue is so numb from pleasure, until your organism gets enough chocolate to satisfy cravings, and when it does, there's that explosion in your stomach.

That is how she felt. Like all of her senses are coming to the one spot on her skin he was kissing at the moment.

"Ouch" - she said all of a sudden, and he backed down immediately, out of fear he had hurt her. Fear was evident in his eyes, so she was in a hurry to take his worries away. "He kicked" - she had put both of her hands on the top of her baby bump, sliding them up and down.

"Or she" - Stefan had put his hand on her bump too, their fingers touching.

You would think the second pregnancy is less special, because you've been through all of it before. But it wasn't. It was as magical as the first one.

"It's a he" - she said determined while caressing her bump.

"Why are you so sure it's a boy" - he asked, surprised by her certainty in the sex of the baby.

"The girls look like me" - she exhaled - "I think our son would look like you. Same hair, same set of eyes, same wonderful smile. And he could change someone's life like you have changed mine. Some girl should be lucky enough to have her Stefan" - she explained.

A proud smile appeared on his face. "That's beautiful" - he lowered his lips on her baby bump and placed a gentle kiss on it. "Or really creepy, depends on how you look at it" - he said after he raised his head.

"Oh shut up and kiss me" - Elena said as she pulled him towards her lips.

**xxxx**

**So, here it is, the end. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as well as the story, and forever thankful to everyone who had read it and to those who reviewed, telling me what they think and what would they like to see :') I will most likely publish my new story on Sunday, because I have a lot of work to do for uni. **

**See you there, hopefully :)**


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